A businessman’s son wanted to learn the secret of happiness from the wisest man. The boy walked through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain where the wise man lived.

When he entered a room, the boy was so surprised: businessmen coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small band playing sweet music, and all kinds of delicious dishes on a large table.

The wise man talked with everyone. The boy had to wait for two hours until it was his turn.

With enough patience, the wise man listened to the reason for the boy’s visit, but he was too busy to explain to him the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy take a walk around his palace and come back in two hours.

“However,” he added, handing the boy a teaspoon with two drops of oil in it, “while you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil go out.”

The boy thought he must follow what the old man had said, so he always kept his eyes fixed on the spoon while walking. At last he returned to the wise man.

“So,” asked the wise man,“did you see the famous paintings in the hall? Did you see the garden that took the master gardener ten years to create?” Embarrassed, the boy said that he had noticed nothing. All his attention was on the spoon.

“OK. Now go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the man. Now more relaxed, the boy took the spoon and walked again through the palace. After his return, he exactly reported all that he had seen.

“But where is the oil?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon, the boy realized that he had spilled (溅) it all.

“Well, the secret of happiness lies in ________ .” the wise man said with a smile. Then the boy realized what happiness was.

A long time ago, there were two special boys, John and Joey. They showed great talents from an early age, and they did better than others around.

They grew up but they chose different ways. John used all of his talents to find a good job. He joined in many activities and visited the most important people and places. Everyone thought that he would be the most important person in the world.

But the second young man, Joey, was different. He always took a heavy responsibility (责任). He thought he should help others. He was always busy looking for ways to help others.

One day, bad things happened and they met many problems. John didn’t know what to do. But Joey always tried his best to solve all kinds of problems. He thought of some good ways and didn’t let the bad things affect (影响) the people in his town. From then on, he was more famous than John.

John then knew that our best talents were not only for ourselves. He learned from Joey that we should always help other people.

I used to hate my mother because she worked a lot and didn’t spend much time with me. Then one Friday morning I took part in a three-day self-help program for teenagers. Whether you believe it or not, that weekend changed my life.

About 100 other teenagers were there. During the first two days I met a lot of great people. I was glad because I made so many friends there.

On Sunday, the leader did an interesting exercise called “Chocolate or Toys”. He asked a girl which she liked better, chocolate or toys. She chose chocolate. Then he asked her to choose again between chocolate and chocolate. Of course, she didn’t have a choice.

This exercise told us that sometimes we don’t have a choice in life, and that sometimes we have to accept something, rather than complaining(抱怨).

A girl stood up and started talking about her mom who was a drug addict(吸毒者) and how much she hated her mother.

“I want a new mom,” she cried.

“Unluckily, you can’t have one,” the leader replied. “You have to accept the mother that you have.”

This hit me hard. I realized that, for better or worse, my mom was my mom. I couldn’t choose another mom, but I could try to make the best of the situation.