In the book The Alchemist, author Paulo Coehlo writes about a young shepherd meeting a king, who invites the young boy to wander through his castle seeing all the sites. The king tells the boy the only catch is he must carry a teaspoon in which there are a few drops of oil. He must not spill the oil.
The boy sets out on his castle sightseeing, staring at the spoon and walking carefully. Two hours later he returns to the king, who praises him on his thriftiness with his oil and quizzes him about what he saw. The boy saw nothing as he was focused on his oil.
The king is greatly disappointed, as he had built the castle for all to enjoy. He sends the boy off with the spoon again and instructs him to truly look around him as he explores the old halls. There are many riches to see and experiences to have.
This time the boy returns with no oil in his spoon but many, many stories. The kings listens happily but then admonishes the boy for losing all the oil in his journey.
The secret to happiness, says the king, is to see all the marvels of the world, but never forget the drops of oil.
What are your drops of oil?