

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 peacefully towering  mountains 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 closely, 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 the  nest – in 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.”