Once upon a time, there was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all of the pictures, but there were only two that he really liked and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm, serene lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful, towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw the picture thought that it was the perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains also, but these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. The king looked closely, behind the waterfall he saw a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush, a mother bird had her nest. There in the midst of all of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest.
The king chose the second picture as the winner. Can you guess why? "Because", explained the king, "peace means to be in the midst of things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of true peace".
It took me many years to realize that this is true in all of our lives. Calmness, peace and serenity are there if you just look for them. It is not the prettiest picture that wins the prize.
No comments:
Post a Comment