Random #22

      "A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty 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.' ”

      The shepherd said nothing. He had understood the story the old king had told him. A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep.

The above is a story from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, one of my favorite books. Well, one of my favorite authors actually. His books have always been revolving around the theme of spiritual journey, the search to understand the meaning of life, things like that. 

Because last week there has been an Internet black out in my house during the entire week, I spent my time re-reading the novel. I no longer have the paperback version of this novel since I gave it away to someone. I sincerely hope that the book would change her life the way it did with mine. 

I am a man who believes that everyone is equal in the sense that nobody is better than everyone else around him, but at the same time, I am also an advocate of the uniqueness of each individual, where everybody is special their own way. Quite a silly idea to hold on to, especially given the situation our world is in right now, but I'd really like to think that it is still very true regardless. But that's the thing, we are all created equal but we all also very different at the same time. 

We all have our goals, things we want to achieve in our lives; to make a lot of money, to achieve internal peace. to stop the war that is going on around us, perform the pilgrimage to Mecca and many more. But what would all those things mean if we do not stop to admire the beauty of the life that has been so generously given to us? The same meaning actually applies to the saying, 'good intentions does not justify the wrong actions of an individual.' It matters not how pure and selfless your ultimate aim is; if you aim to see peace in this world by destroying it in the process and rebuild it once more from complete and utter nothingness, then you are misunderstood. 

The world is more than what your mind think it is. As a student, I sometimes ponder, when will all this knowledge ever stop? Is there no limit to the discoveries and research we can pursue? And being a Muslim, I know that the answer is surely a big no. You see the irony there? By being in the possession of the right knowledge, I know that there is actually no limit for the knowledge of this world, for Allah The Almighty is the All-Knowing and only He is the One who holds the key to all knowledge. 

And because of the fact above, we have to continue on fighting. We have to get back on our feet whenever we fall down, because only by falling down we would learn how to get back up.

I leave the rest to you.......