In Paulo's Coelho's The Alchemist,
the King of Salem (Melchizedek) tells Santiago the story of a boy who is told by the
"wisest of wisemen" that he must carry oil on a spoon while he sees the world, and yet
not spill the oil.
The message I get from this is that
while there is much to be seen in the world, we must not lose sight of our primary
responsibilities in life. For Santiago (according to the King of Salem), every person
has a responsibility to pursue his or her Personal Legend. Nothing else can be as
important. In doing so, all the things that are significant in life will eventually come
to the person who stays focused anyway. When the boy in the story does not spill the
oil, he has missed everything around him. If the boy is spilling the oil, he is losing
sight of his original goal, losing focus because of the things he sees in the world as
he moves about. Soon, his task of carrying the oil safely has been forgotten, and the
oil gone—much like the loss of an exceptional opportunity when one is distracted from
one's purpose.
"'Well there is only one piece of advice I can
give you,' said the wisest of the wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the
marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the
spoon'.”
The King of Salem is
telling Santiago to see all that he can of the world. (This make sense, for how can
Santiago follow omens or learn the Universal Language, etc., if he does not observe the
world around him?) However, Melchizedek is also reminding Santiago not to be distracted
by what he sees so much that he loses sight of his purpose in life: he must maintain a
balance on his journey.
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