The Key To Happiness, An Oriental Tale

Do you know where the key to happiness is? According to an oriental fable, at the beginning of time, all the gods had come together and, between a chat and the other, they ended up creating the universe. Each of them had a special ability; therefore they divided the tasks, agreeing to meet again to assess the situation.

The gods of light began to create the stars and all the shiny objects found in the universe. They were so fascinated by them that they first create a few, then a hundred, and finally millions! They were truly wonderful and put on a show when they came out of the black of nowhere.

The gods of the abyss did not want to be outdone. They created the planets and, within the planets, the deep oceans. One of the gods thought how majestic a sea of ​​fire could be, but his companions advised against it seeing the danger. Eventually they created it, but hid it inside the mountains, letting it out from time to time in order to illuminate the landscape.

The creation of life

Then there was a group of gods who had the task of creating life. They couldn’t agree. Most were convinced that it was better to create a living being unable to think.

One such deity even thought that the best solution was to create a tiny and fleeting life. Then the mosquito was born. But it was so boring that they decided to send it to planet Earth, so that it wouldn’t bother anyone.

This oriental tale tells us that another god enjoyed shaping a nimble, skillful and beautiful creature. It was the cat. However, she was too independent and immediately slipped away, and no one knew where she went.

This experience taught that perhaps it was better to create a more affectionate and friendly being who could accompany the gods everywhere without running away at the first opportunity, as the cat had done. This is how the dog was conceived and created. Everyone really liked the dog, but one of the deities was saddened because the dog could neither reason nor speak.

Birth of man

This god, who was not satisfied with the life forms that had shaped his companions, decided to do better. It took a few centuries to meditate. Eventually he thought of a perfect being. It would give him the intelligence to think and a heart to hear. He was convinced, in fact, that it made no sense to have created such a beautiful universe without someone capable of admiring it and grasping its meaning.

Thus it was that man was born. He was very similar to the gods, but everyone saw that he looked disoriented. He did not know what to do and how to live. A god had a beautiful idea: to give him the gift of happiness to allay his anxieties.

Immediately the man lay down placidly on a lawn and began to contemplate the stars. Centuries passed and it didn’t move from there. He did nothing. Because? He was eternally happy. His heart was full, he didn’t need anything else.

The key to happiness

Seeing this, the god who created man thought that his colleague had made a mistake. Giving man complete happiness had transformed him into a passive being, unable to exploit the intelligence and sensitivity he was gifted with. And then an idea came to him. He had no intention of taking his happiness from the man, but perhaps it was better to hide it. In this way he would have been forced to seek her out, abandoning that sick passivity.

The other gods liked this idea a lot. One of them proposed to lock happiness inside a chest and hide the key. But where to put the casket and where to hide the key to happiness? Was it better to put everything at the bottom of the sea? Or in heaven? Or inside a volcano?

A long discussion followed, in the end the man’s father had a fantastic idea: “ We will put both the chest and the key inside the man, so he must first know each other in order to find them “. Everyone applauded. Then one of them said, “Let’s put the box of happiness in his mind. He will find it thanks to his intelligence ”.

Another applause followed. Lastly, the god of the abyss spoke: “We will hide the key of happiness in his heart. Kindness will show him the way to reach it ”. And everyone agreed.