The Secret of Happiness...
Hint: it has to do with a spoon
There is a wonderful story (or a version of it told by other cultures) about a young boy who wandered the hot desert for weeks and finally came across a beautiful castle. Inside there were musicians, merchants, the most delectable dishes and sweets, tapestries and artifacts from all over the world.
Here in the lively castle lived a wise man who supposedly knew the Secret of Happiness. The boy waited for hours for his turn to talk with him, but when the time came, the boy was told the wise man didn’t have time to talk.
Instead, the man told the boy to take a walk around the castle and return in two hours. The wise man gave the boy a spoon with some drops of oil and said, “While you walk around, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”
Determined with a new mission, the boy started to climb up and down staircases and walk around gardens, always keeping his eyes on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to find the man.
“So, did you see the ancient Persian tapestries in the dining room? Did you see the flowering garden with plants and fountains? Did you see the magnificent books in the library?” The wise man asked the boy.
But the boy confessed he didn’t see anything because he was too focused on not spilling the oil from the spoon.
“Go back and see the wonders of the palace,” the wise man said. “Take two hours and see it all this time.”
The boy ran off in search of majestic paintings, parchments at the library, ancient tapestries, and lush gardens. After two hours, he returned to see the wise man again.
The wise man looked at the boys hands and saw the oil was no longer on the spoon. “But where are the drops of oil I entrusted you?” He asked the boy.
This time he had been too focused on absorbing the wonders around him, and forgot about the oil on his spoon.
“The Secret of Happiness,” the wise man said, “lies in looking at all the wonders of the world, but never forgetting the drops of oil on the spoon.”
You might recognize this story or a version of it. I was reminded of it today because I was thinking about how we can remain open and receptive to the world around us and dream big, while not loosing sight of what’s really important.
It’s a delicate balance, yet necessary. Sometimes we get carried away with our big dreams, ambitious career plans, exciting travel plans…. That we begin to neglect things like our mental health, physical health, our important friendships, and our family. We forget to enjoy the birds singing, the color of spring flowers, and fresh tasting fruit. Somehow it seems easier to swing from one extreme to the other, and not spend time in the middle. But we must remember that it IS possible to keep a balance of both. Perhaps in the endeavor to find balance, in that tiny present moment, is where happiness is found?
Hermann Hesse explains in this way, “When someone is seeking, it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal... For in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose."
I hope we all keep striving toward our dreams and goals, but not loose sight of the many beautiful things right under our nose.
:) Maria
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