The secret of happiness ( from ALCHEMIST))
A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.
However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.
The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.
With considerable patience, the Sage listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.
He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours’ time.
“However, I want to ask you a favor,” he added, handling the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. “While you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”
The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.
“So,” asked the sage, “did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”
Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
“So, go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. “You can’t trust a man if you don’t know his house.”
Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.
“But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” asked the sage.
Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.
“Well, that is the only advice I have to give you,” said the sage of sages. “The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon.”
from the book “The Alchemist”
PAULO COELHO:
The story above is taken from my book “The Alchemist”, currently 150 weeks in the New York Times Bestselling list + one of the Top 20 Bestselling Books from all timesTHANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT!
The secret of happiness ( from ALCHEMIST))
This was narrated by an IAF pilot to IIT students during a Seminar on Human Relations:
Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents. My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air.. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things. As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us? Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete. Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments. Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.. Take care of your parents. THEY ARE PRECIOUS.
“I see more and more that my work goes infinitely better when I am properly fed, and the paints are there, and the studio and all that. But have I set my heart on my work being a success? A thousand times no. I wish I could manage to make you really understand that when you give money to artists, you are yourself doing an artist’s work, and that I only want my pictures to be of such a quality that you will not be too dissatisfied with your work.”
Vincent van Gogh
Written by Agha Mehr Gul.
The rescue of the Chilean miners trapped 600 feet below the earth for almost 70 days was really dramatic. Life still has value in some countries.
It got me thinking, what the situation might have been had these miners been Pakistanis…..
To start off, of the 30 odd miners, half of them would have been killed within the first 48 hours by the other half over arguments as to who among them was responsible for the collapse of the mine. And if rescue did come, they would be pulling each other down to be the first one out!
Meanwhile, on the surface…
Rehman Malik would have announced within the first few moments of the incident that all the miners were dead, only to retract his statement later.
Zardari would have flown abroad to muster diplomatic support from France and be enjoying life wining and dining in his chateau.
The Prime Minster could have come out with his usual statement that if such an incident had taken place, he was not aware of it, but such things happen everywhere, his govt just Inherited Old practices of mines collapsing…..
Nawaz Sharif would first join hands with the PPP in saving the lives of the miners and then turn against his “bhai” alleging that this was a plot to gain votes.
Imran Khan would be blaming the Americans and then Pak Army for the collapse of the mine.
Altaf Hussain would want the government to hand over the rescue operation to the army.
Ejaz Butt would be trying to figure out who would lead the rescue team.
A Geo reporter would be the first person to reach the miners.
Hamid Mir would have uncovered corruption and mismanagement of funds allocated to the rescue plan.
Iftkhar Chaudhry would take a suo motto and then launch an investigation to find out if any of the miners had benefited from the NRO.
The police would try to stop the miners lawyers from reaching the site, resulting in a clash and “the law” of the country would beat the crap out of each other.
And while the rescue shuttle, which would probably be a rusted barrel tied with a worn out rope being pulled (remember it’s load shedding time) by an old undernourished overworked donkey with flies on his wounds, is lowered into the ground, an American drone bombs the place, killing not only the miners but their families as well. US govt would announce, Mission accomplished. Saying, Militants who were trying to dig their way into Europe before swimming to the USA were happily all killed!!!The World led by David Cameron and UN would applaud the US action.
Rehman Malik : “The miners were already dead before the drone
30,NOVEMBER 2010
Life is a fact,
Living is an art.
Upon us to act,
With choices called ‘smart’.
Neither with options ‘wierd’,
Nor should be feared.
But accept with grace,
The hardships we face.
Whether sweet or sour,
Are the grapes of life,
Stay who we are,
Without bitterness or strife.
Would rather not live,
Than leave my sanity.
More fulfilling to ‘give’,
Than ‘take’ for vanity.
Life’s road takes turn,
Brings lessons to learn.
With display of dignity,
We ascend to eternity.
Ilmana Fasih
10 November 2010
Dulles Airport, Washington DC.
If the entire history of mankind were condensed into a single year, our knowledge of how to destroy life on earth with weapons of mass destruction has been acquired in the last thirty seconds. Never again will we lack the knowledge to eliminate the world in a single act of madness. Therefore, we are faced with a dilemma unique in our history. We must not only control the weapons that can kill us, we must bridge the great disparities of wealth and opportunity among the peoples of the world, the vast majority of whom live in poverty without hope, opportunity or choices in life. These conditions are a breeding ground for division that can cause a desperate people to resort to nuclear weapons as a last resort. Our only hope lies in the power of our love, generosity, tolerance and understanding and our commitment to making the world a better place for all of Allah’s children.
— Muhammad Ali
RAIN OF LOVE
Published in the Aye Karachi Magazine, May 2011.
Written to mourn the nameless individuals gunned down in Karachi in the name of ‘target killings’…
When in 2010
I saw now and then
Innocent beings killed
With liters of blood spilled
As the city drowned in flood
From the target killed’s blood
As the poor and nameless
Became targets of the shameless
And as I stood childishly sobbing
With pain so agonizing, so throbbing
For it put Humanity to shame
I gave that year a name
‘The Bloody year’
And now in 2011
I look up to Heaven
I beg and pray
That killers stay away
But my prayers go unheard
As the killers stay undeterred
The leaders stay unstirred
Peace remains blurred
The killings go on unabated
Gosh, they could have waited
For some days to pass
Before corpses they amass
But no, they have no patience
In blood is drowned their conscience
As the days pass more
Who knows what’s in store
And I shiver with dread
For the months that lay ahead.
I wonder what name will I give to this year?
Ilmana Fasih
14 Jan 2011
Blind to Bounds 
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