The Picture Of Peace.
There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of "Peace". Many artists throughout the land tried and after a few months they went to him with all their pictures.
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 the peaceful towering mountains that were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy black clouds. Everyone who saw this picture thought that it was the perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged, bare and rocky with no trees on them. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and lightning played it's staggered flashes on to the rocky mountains. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall splashing all over the rocks. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the King looked more closely at the picture, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush 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, streaks of lightning and rain sat the mother bird on her nest... in perfect peace!
The King then had no hesitation in deciding who the winner of the prize should be. The King chose the second picture because, as he explained, "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."
Author unknown, adapted by David West.
