Current Book & Quotes From: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Secret to Happiness
In the book, Santiago (the shepherd boy and our main character) meets with the King of Salem as he begins his quest for his personal legend. The King of Salem provides many insights and words of wisdom for Santiago before he departs. One of the stories he shares with Santiago is the story of the boy who wanted to learn the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world.
The story begins with the boy's father sending him to the desert for forty days in search of the wise man. After finally reaching the castle, the boy waits for two hours before he finally got his turn to meet the wise man. The boy told the wise man why he was there and then the wise man told the boy to take a look around the palace and then return to him in two more 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 proceeded to walk around the palace while keeping his eyes completely focused on the spoon. Two hours later, he returned to the wise man, who asked him:
“'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 the wise man told the boy to go back through the palace and "observe the marvels of my world".
“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.’”
To me, the spoon with the oil represents our main purpose in life - our personal legend. Whatever you think your personal legend may be, you must never lose sight of it.
BUT...
You must also never forget to appreciate the wonders of the world - the beautiful scenery around you and the important people in your life... The secret to happiness is to appreciate life and all its wonders while also never forgetting to pursue your personal legend.
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: Do you struggle to find balance in your life? Are you able to appreciate the wonders of the world while also staying focused on your dreams and aspirations?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it
-Paulo Coelho
Hmmmm this one isn't just about business but our day to day life. Striking a balance in your pursuit of life and meaning is as important as the destination itself. It just so happened that am writing a post at hand right now which I wants to use it to run a contest in the business category. And it is in this same line of thought. Am glad that I found my balance early enough in life so I gets to live life while aspiring for what I wants. Thanks @khaleekazi for this beautiful piece.
Balancing the juggling act between pursuing your ambitions in life while also being able to appreciate the life you live is very hard, but very rewarding and a necessary skill in order to be happy! Thanks for sharing @lordjames, let me know when you post and I'll check it out!
Sure I'll let you know later today.
There are a lot of lessons you can pull out of this book, one of the reasons I actually enjoyed reading this for school. Like the little excerpts you've been making, can't wait to see more.
I agree. It’s a great book.
I think that for anyone who isn't born with a silver spoon. It's only natural to struggle to find balance in life life as we know it, Isn't a bed of roses. What we should learn to do is appreciate the wonders of life around us while basking in our struggles remembering that we have only one life to live. If we leave the world today , ours is finished and so what will if profit you to labour , struggle and in the end loose sight of the things that matter most around you.
The struggle to find Balance in life is inevitable, but a conscious effort helps one scale through. I had a tough time balancing good grades in all ten subject combinations at school, still having struggles balancing my social, academic and religious life. Finding this balance above all odds is the master key to happiness and a fulfilled life.
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one of best book, which inspire your soul, if once you start reading than you don't stop yourself,its grab the reader
it's really amazing friends
I think procrastination is one of the main reasons why people don't get ahead. Even if you find 10 minutes a day, to practice a new skill, there's a good chance it will help you in the the long-run. Life is like a complicated puzzle, you can find success, by putting the pieces together. You achieve balance, by reinvesting your energies into a good cause.
Yea procrastination has killed many. Once you are not able to do something at the moment , doing it when it's late might pose a bigger problem and then finally it is left undone and if one makes procrastination a habit, he never gets anything done.
Above all, also find time to live life a little. Go out there, explore, makes friends and enjoy the beauties of life while pursuing success.
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Sometimes, it amaze me how some people do spoil a great thread through their spamming comment.
These posts take more time to take in and reflect on. As for the question, my answer is yes. Balance is an every growing struggle. I have found some conclusions on my hiking trip a day ago.
What drives us at this moment may not be what we really need. It's important to look at the big picture. For me this is to take some time off and spend it with people I love.
I honestly do struggle to find balance, I feel like part of the reason is that my heart isn't in my work right now. Reading Gary V makes me want to do something so that I could even have a personal legend. It's challenging to follow dreams when I've got myself stuck in other areas of life. But no excuses, I really want to find balance this year. I'm not sure what it will take, but I'm doing it!
I like this story, I could see the oil being our inner world, but I could see it being our life's purpose too.
I think the drops of oil on the spoon represent our daily activities that we usually do on autopilot mode, and that if we end up forgetting and checking on them, our life could eventually turn into a unsustainable state.
The lesson probably consist in finding balance between appreciating the beauty of life, while not forgetting about the little responsibilities we all have on a daily basis.
I tend to forget my dreams and aspirations very quickly, what made it easier to remember is actually write it down somewhere and put it on a place i usually walk by in the morning!
My problem right now is trying to balance college, steemit, gym and social life... so hard, last week i had 3 nights that i only slept 4h each, it's not healthy at all
Good thing you are liking the book! It was my first read since i was a kid and i liked it very much.