What Do You Mean by Peace?: Anonymous

There was once 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 all around it. Overhead was a blue sky
with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought 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 angry water, sat the mother bird on her 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."

Tags:short story, inspirational story, francis j kong, bird's nest, peace, what is the real meaning of peace?, anonymous