Theos-Talk Archives (July 2006 Message tt00691)

Hi All, The following was emailed to me by a friend I thought I'd 
share it here at theos talk :
.........................
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, and in which 
lightning 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".
.....................................

Cheers

Perry