Peace is not about being in a place where there is no noise, unrest or conflict. Peace is a state of inward awareness. Never let this chaotic world be an impediment to finding peace within.

Long ago, there lived a king who asked the artists in his kingdom to paint the best picture of peace. The king announced a handsome reward for the best painting. The royal court received many paintings and the king selected two of them.

The first painting was a picture of a calm lake. In its waters was the reflection of serene mountains and clear blue skies. It was the perfect picture of peace.

The other painting too had mountains. But they were rugged and the sky above them was dark with black clouds. And on the side of the mountain was a roaring waterfall. The picture portrayed anything but peace. But something in the picture caught the king’s attention–a bird’s nest hung delicately on a bush behind the waterfall. A bird and her little ones resided in the midst of a raging waterfall! The king announced that this painting would be the winner.

All the courtiers wondered how dark clouds and rugged mountains could even remotely portray peace. “Because,” the king said, “peace does not refer to a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means being in the midst of all those things and still remaining calm.”

If the mother bird and her young ones can reside peacefully behind a roaring waterfall, then we, too, can find it within to be at peace despite the chaos around.

Everything in our lifetime is an evolution; everything manifests into this world as either inner peace or as consequence. Inner peace isn’t about the absence of noise or problems; it’s about our response to them. The more we understand the energies at play in every situation and turn our focus inward, we begin to notice a subtle yet profound shift – a quiet strength emerging from the inner core of our being. We find a steady anchor within, even when the seas around us are choppy.

Peace comes out of meditation – when we move out of our mind and become centered as a witness, simply watching the mind without judgment, without evaluation, without good or bad, right or wrong. The mind is just like a river with a constant stream of thoughts that go on passing by. When we can simply sit by the side of the flow of the mind, unconcerned, just as a witness – we will be in for a great surprise. Slowly, slowly, as we become more and more centered, simply being a witness, the thoughts begin to disappear. They can only exist when we acknowledge them. Soon…there is silence, there is peace.

Each moment of silence brings new fragrance. Peace brings new flowers. Nothing is said, but much is heard. Nothing is shown, but much is seen. Nobody guides you, but some magnetic force of peace takes you farther and farther away from the mind, away from the body, away from the noise of this chaotic world.

When we become peaceful, we create a silent, loving energy – invisible, but very tangible.