THE PICTURE OF PEACE
Author Unknown
There once 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 this
picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare.
Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, in which lightening
played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall.
This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the King looked, 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, sat the mother bird on her nest… perfect
peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize?
The King chose the second picture.
Do you know 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.
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