The little spoon of happiness.

It is amazing how one's attitude can change the whole of life. When you are feeling upbeat and happy everything around you can look the same.

When you are feeling down, for whatever reason, even the most beautiful of sights can seem dark and dismal. 

A man was seeking the way to find true happiness being down about how he had so many good days and so many bad ones. he had been told that a sage who lived in the hills would tell him the secret.

On arriving at the place he did not. as he was expecting, on entering the main room he saw a hive of activity. Tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world.

 The man had to take his turn to be able to speak to the wise man. Eventually, he spoke to him and told him why he had come. The man listened but told him he could not explain at that moment instead he suggested he go around the place and look at all the beautiful things to be seen.

“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,” said the wise man, handing the man a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”

The man began wandering around the house and its gardens, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. 

After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

“Well,” asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

The man was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,” said the wise man. “You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

Relieved, the man picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the man  saw that the oil was gone.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wisest of wise men.

“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

To be able to see all the marvels of the world but still be aware of the beauty that lies within each one of us. This is the true secret of happiness.