© 2024 Mario Alonso Puig
© 2024 Urantia Association of Spain
The ruler of a great kingdom was already advanced in age and wanted to make sure that, before leaving the world, he passed on an important lesson to his son. Throughout the most difficult times of his reign, that had been key to staying strong and finally achieving peace and harmony in his country. For some reason, the young prince did not quite understand what his father was telling him.
The sovereign ordered a painting contest to be held, the theme of which would be serenity, with the condition that no work would be rejected, no matter how strange it might seem.
Wonderful paintings arrived from all over the known world. Some showed calm seas, others clear skies. But a very strange painting also appeared, painted in dark tones and with little light, which reflected a rough sea in the middle of a storm in which enormous waves violently hit the dark rocks of a cliff. The sky appeared covered with enormous, dark clouds. The nobles did not understand the painting, but since they could not reject this work by order of the king, they placed it in a corner where it was barely visible.
The day came when the king had to decide which was the winning painting. He looked at all the works and, although they seemed very beautiful to him, he felt that they were all missing something until, almost by chance, he found the strange painting in a corner. He examined it carefully and proclaimed that it was the winning painting.
Faced with the incredulity of the nobles, who did not understand his decision, the king made them look at a detail in the painting. Among the rocks, there was a small nest where there was a newborn bird. The mother was feeding it, completely oblivious to the storm that was taking place.
The king explained to them what he so wanted to convey to his son the prince:
—Serenity does not come from living in ideal circumstances as reflected in the other paintings with their calm seas and clear skies. Serenity is the ability to keep your attention focused, in the midst of difficulty, on what is a priority for you.
¶ References
- Index of the magazine “Luz y Vida” of the Association of Spain
- This article from the magazine “Luz y Vida Online”