Finding Happiness?

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to
learn about the secret of happiness
from the wisest man in the world. The
Son wandered through the desert for 40
days, and finally came upon a beautiful
castle, high atop a mountain. It was
there that the wise man lived.
Rather than finding a saintly man,
though, our hero, on entering the main
room of the castle, 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 wise man
conversed with everyone, and the boy
had to wait for two hours before it was
his turn to be given the man's attention.
The wise man listened attentively to the
boy's explanation of why he had come,
but told him that he didn't have time just
then to explain the secret of happiness.
He suggested that the boy look around
the palace and return in two hours.
"Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do
something", said the wise man, handing
the boy a teaspoon that held two drops
of oil. "As you wander around, carry
this spoon with you without allowing
the oil to spill".
The boy began climbing and descending
the many stairways of the palace,
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 boy 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 boy 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
boy 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".