A Picture of True Peace
Once 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 the pictures, but there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw the picture thought it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. However, 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. However, when the king looked closely, he saw that behind the waterfall a tiny bush was growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush, a mother bird had built her nest. There in the midst of the rush of angry water, the mother bird sat on her nest, in perfect peace.
Which picture won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Why? “Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”
by Author Unknown
Once 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 the pictures, but there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw the picture thought it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. However, 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. However, when the king looked closely, he saw that behind the waterfall a tiny bush was growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush, a mother bird had built her nest. There in the midst of the rush of angry water, the mother bird sat on her nest, in perfect peace.
Which picture won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Why? “Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”
by Author Unknown
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