Last Updated on January 6, 2023
What do you think of when you hear the word peace? Is it having a world free from fight and war? Or just living your life and feeling calm all the time?
Whatever the answer is, what is certain is that people desire to feel joy and peace in their lives.
If you are looking for inspirational stories about peace, this short story will provide an example of the way some people might see peace in their lives and how it appears to them. It may also give you a good idea of what peace is like not only in your life but for others as well.
Portrait of Peace
Once there was a king who offered to give a prize to an artist who could best paint a depiction of peace. Many artists decided to participate and sent the king their masterpieces.
Among the various masterpieces, one picture was of a calm lake closely resembling peacefully towering snow-capped mountains where a blue sky with fluffy clouds was overheard.
The picture was exemplary. Most of those who viewed the paintings of peace from different artists thought that this painting was the best among all others.
But the king had another winner in mind. To the crowd’s surprise, the picture that won was of a mountain too but was more plain and rugged than the other piece.
The sky was shady and looked angry because there was lightning. It was exactly the opposite of what peace should look like. The others thought that maybe the artist submitted a wrong painting showing storm rather than peace.
What others didn’t notice was that if you look closely at the painting, there is a tiny bush growing in the cracks of a rock. In the bush, there is a nest built by a mother bird and in the midst of the stormy weather, the bird sits peacefully on her nest.
In that specific portrait, it was depicted that in the presence of all the turmoil, there is still someone who can be calm in his or her heart.
Practice Ways to be Peaceful
The real meaning of peace for the mother bird in the story, as viewed by the king, is finding calm within despite the noise from the outside world. It is peace of mind that is not affected by the state of one’s surroundings.
But how can you truly find happiness and be peaceful on this earth? Fear not for here are ideas and techniques you can do to achieve peace like the characters from the story.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Real Meaning of Peace
Just like in the story, understanding that real peace comes from within – and not from what the environment dictates – is the first step to reaching a sense of peace.
Working and focusing on things that matter can help you realize that things may not be as bad as they seem and that you can handle them.
See Things from a New Perspective
Learning new and different perspectives can help change your life for the better.
In the story, the people only looked at the beauty of things and disregarded that calmness is possible in a not-so-tranquil place. If they only thought and looked harder enough through the paintings, they could have seen what the wise king saw in the stormy painting.
Seeing the whole picture of events, and not just always in black and white, can enable you to look at other possibilities and find out how to solve problems.
Accept that There are Things Beyond Your Control
The mother bird in the story knew that if the rain fell, there is nothing she could do about it. Instead of panicking and being restless about the situation, she just decided to remain calmly in her nest and wait for the storm out.
Being aware of the things you can and cannot control can make your life more peaceful. Accepting things, letting them go, and focusing on the present instead helps lose the power of any negative thoughts that you may have.
Unhook from Negative Thinking
If you only look and think of things negatively, then the more concerned you will be in your life.
Negative thoughts can fuel the noise around you but what is more difficult about it is that it is coming from within you.
How do you make it stop then? Recognize your negative self-talk and acknowledge its existence. The more you repress your negative thoughts, the more they will get louder and more frequent.
Once you recognize your negative thoughts, you can challenge them and think of opposite thoughts to alter your way of thinking. Developing and practicing relaxing techniques can also be helpful in situations like this.
Just Breathe
Being at the present moment can increase your peace of mind. One example of a simple but extremely powerful relaxing technique is breathing exercises.
By focusing on your breathing when things are getting quite chaotic can aid you to be more attuned to the present.
If you are looking for more relaxing techniques that might work for you, you can also try activities such as going for a long walk, doing yoga, listening to music, writing and practicing meditation.
Finding Inner Peace Midst the New World
To find inner and true peace can be a challenge for more than one reason. Our society is more connected than ever before, but this connection doesn’t always provide the comfort that we crave.
We are constantly bombarded with news updates, social media posts, and instant messaging alerts which perpetuate our feelings of never being “good enough”. At the same time, it can be hard to step away from all of this noise because of how much work needs to get done.
Nevertheless, learning and reminding yourselves to create a balance between solitude and connectedness to others, and develop an understanding of yourselves and others can all one day help you find the happiness you are searching for.
