The modern world often incentives us to be too task-focused at the expense of losing the big picture and fully taking in the glorious life that is all around us.

How many times have we been so focused on one small thing that we completely ignored something more important that was taking place in the world - to our own detriment later?

Conversely, it is also true that big picture-visionaries may neglect taking care of small but critical details, which later come back to trip them up.

What we want instead is to be in a state of awareness, i.e. where we are simultaneously aware of the singular task at hand, and also aware of the life going on around.

That is why my students, many of whom are busy-bees, often get homework to play and relax even as they are assigned other tasks. In fact, it is sometimes paradoxically easier for them to complete a given task when they're not overly-focused on or stressed up about it.

In his world-renowned masterpiece, The Alchemist, Paolo Coelho tells the story of the shopkeeper's son and the wise man. Through this story, he explains what it means to fully take in life and enjoy your journey even as you work on manifesting discrete projects and goals.

I reproduce the passage here for your enjoyment as there is no replacement for reading directly from this masterpiece. 

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Excerpt from The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho

“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.’"

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REFLECTION EXERCISE: As you go about your life, do you have a tendency to 'drop the oil'? Or do you have a tendency to ignore the scenery? And what would it take for you to become more conscious of both for a more successful and enjoyable ride through life?