Once upon a time a young boy lived in a small village. Day
after day he did everything his parents asked of him. 

They wanted him to tend the sheep, so he did. They wanted
him to milk the cows and he did. They wanted him to clean
the barn and he did. They wanted him to be like his older
brother, so he copied what he did and said.

It was not enough. The boy felt anxious and unhappy. 

As hard as he tried, he could not gain his parents' approval
for very long. For each thing that met their approval, they had
five new expectations to take its place. 

He was anxious and unhappy.

The anxious and unhappy boy wanted peace and happiness
more than anything else in this world.

He decided to seek the answer to peace and happiness from
his friends and neighbors.  

For years he listened to what his friends and neighbors
advised and did what they told him to do.

Although he got the reputation of being an honorable
young man, he was still an anxious and unhappy one.

Throughout the years the villagers had spoken of a wise old 
hermit that lived alone at the top of a mountain near the edge
of a cliff far, far away.

They said that the old hermit knew secrets that mere mortal
men did not. He had profound wisdom.

One day the young man's frustration and anxiety brought him
to a decision. He decided to find the wise man and ask him
to share the secret to peace and happiness.

The young man packed his knapsack and stole away that
night when everyone was asleep.

After several weeks of traveling with little food, shelter, or
water, he finally reached the humble dwelling at the top
of a faraway cliff.

He knocked on the door and a thin elderly man in a brown
robe greeted him with kind eyes.

Out of breath and hardly able to speak from exhaustion, the
young man asked, "Are you the wise hermit of whom they
speak?"

The hermit slowly replied, "Yes. I am that man."

The young man said, "I have come all this way seeking peace
and happiness. I will do whatever you say. Please show favor
on me and give me the secret to peace and happiness."

The wise man smiled and said, "Bring me a loaf of bread from
the nearest village. Do not return until you have it, and then
you will have my blessing."

Although the young man was exhausted, he was excited that
the wise man had agreed to share the secret to peace and
happiness. He left immediately and returned the next day
with a loaf of fresh bread from the nearest village. 

The wise man took the loaf and said, "In a certain field many
days' journey from here, there is a rare flower with golden
blooms. Only a dozen of these flowers exist, and they only
open up at the stroke of midnight."

"Bring me one of those flowers, and make sure to bring it at
the stroke of midnight as it is blossoming. Do not return
until you have it, and then you will have my blessing."

Although this task was more difficult than the last one, the
young man vowed to return with the treasured flower that
would bring him the secret to peace and happiness.

A few weeks later the young man returned with a golden
flower exactly at the stroke of midnight as the flower
blossomed in a brilliant display of beauty.

The wise man nodded, then pulled a seashell from his robe
and gave it to the young man.

The young man gasped in wonder upon seeing such a
beautiful seashell. It was unlike anything he had ever seen.
It shimmered with a rainbow of colors that was like a halo
of light.

The wise man said, "Bring me a seashell that is identical
to this one. It must match exactly. Do not return until you
have it, and then you will have my blessing." 

The young man doubted that he could find another seashell
so beautiful or so unique. "Master, I do not think that another
seashell like this exists on this earth. It is truly a wondrous
treasure."

The wise man persisted, "You must find another. Do not
return until you have it, and then you will have my blessing."

The young man decided that he would try. After all, he
needed to please the wise man so that he could learn
the secret to peace and happiness. He headed in the
direction of the sea. When he eventually got there, the
waves crashed against the shore and knocked him wildly
about. He almost died getting to the rocks at the base
of the cliff.

After many months of searching, the young man could not
find an identical seashell. Many were similar, but none were
exactly the same. Each had its own unique beauty. 

Once he looked more closely, he realized that each seashell
had its own small halo of light and was indeed a unique and
precious treasure.

The young man finally realized that the wise man had sent
him to do an impossible task. No two seashells were exactly
alike.

He was disappointed beyond words. After all, he had spent
all of this time and effort trying to gain the approval of
the wise man. 

The wise man would surely be disappointed that he had failed,
and he would never find the secret to peace and happiness.
But why had the wise man sent him to do an impossible task?

After several sleepless nights considering what to do, the
young man returned to the wise man's dwelling at the top
of the cliff. 

The young man took the seashell the old man had given him
out of his knapsack. He explained, "I searched for months
for another seashell just like this one. But I discovered that
there were none like it. It is indeed unique. In fact, each of
the seashells I found had its own unique beauty." 

The wise man's eyes lit up.

Then the young man begged: "Please do not turn me away.
Give me another test, and I will pass it. I vow to you!"

The wise man suddenly looked very disappointed. With a
wave of his hand, he said, "Go away and do not return."
The hermit turned to go back inside.

The young man burst out in tears of anger and frustration.
He cried, "I have traveled far from my homeland and spent
months risking my life on these tests just to please you!" 

The wise man was silent.

The young man said, "Why do you say nothing? I have
disregarded my own wants. I have put myself and my
own desires aside. Why do you then scorn me and
send me away without the secret to peace and
happiness?" 

"You know you sent me to do an impossible task. Why
then are you disappointed in me?"

The wise man slowly shook his head and started walking
inside. 

The young man shouted, "You are a fake! You do not have
the secret to peace and happiness!" 

"I have tried my whole life to please others...my parents,
friends and neighbors, and now you ...to gain their approval.
Each time approval is fleeting. You place your own
expectations on me. Many times your expectations are
different from what I want for myself, or are just plain
impossible!"

He continued, "You are disappointed. You think I have
failed you because I have not brought you two identical
seashells. I have not failed you at all."

In that instant the answer the young man had been seeking
all these years became clear to him.

In a calm, serene voice the young man said, "Here is the
truth: No two seashells are alike, and they should not be.
Each one is unique and a treasure unto itself. Seashells
do not exist to gain your approval, and neither do I."

The young man turned to walk away, feeling an inner
lightness that felt strange and new and wonderful. With
surprise, he realized that THIS must be what peace and
happiness felt like!

The wise man turned around with a calm smile and kind eyes.
He slowly replied, "I was not disappointed because you failed
to bring an identical seashell. I was disappointed because
you did not realize that you are worthy without it."

"Now you too know the secret to peace and happiness. It is
this: peace and happiness do not come from trying to gain
the approval of others. They come from realizing that you are
worthy without it." 

"You are worthy exactly as you are. YOU are that seashell.
You are beautiful and unique, a treasure beyond words." 

The young man smiled. Indeed, he understood at last. The
next morning he began the journey home -- filled with peace
and joy. He carried the seashell in his knapsack as a
reminder of the lesson that he had learned.