The ruler of a great kingdom, who was very old, wanted to make sure that, before abandoning this world, he imparted an important lesson to his son. During the kingdom's most difficult times, it was important to be firm and ensure that peace and harmony would ultimately reign in the country. But for some reason, the young Prince couldn't quite understand what his father was saying.
" Yes, Father, I understand that for you serenity is very important but I believe that cunning and power are more important."
One day, when the King was riding his steed he had a great idea.
"Perhaps what my son needs is not for me to repeat the same thing over and over again but to demonstrate it to him in some way" Carried away by this idea he ordered a meeting of the most important members of his court to the main hall of the palace.
"I want to organize a painting competition. The biggest and most important one ever to be held. The town criers must make it known throughout the world that there will be an extraordinary prize for the winner of the exhibition.
"Your majesty," asked one of the nobles, "What is the theme of the exhibition?"
"The theme is serenity, balance. I will only give you one order," said the King. "Under no circumstances should you reject any work of art, however strange it appears or horror should cause."
The nobles left without fully understanding the surprising order that the King had given them.
From all the corners of the known world came marvellous paintings. Some of them showed calm seas, others clear skies in which a flock of birds glided across creating a sensation of calm, peace and serenity.
The nobles were enthused by such beautiful paintings.
"Without a doubt, his Majesty is going to find it very difficult to choose the winning painting among such magnificent works of art."
Suddenly, before the shocked public appeared a truly bizarre painting. Painted in dark tones and with little light, it reflected a rough sea in the middle of a storm in which huge waves were crashing violently against the dark cliff rocks. The sky was covered with enormous dark clouds.
The nobles looked at each other in disbelief and soon broke out in laughter and mockery. "Only an idiot would have entered a competition about serenity with a painting like this."
They were on the point of tossing it out of the room when one of the nobles interrupted them saying,
"We have an order from the King which we cannot disobey. He told us that we couldn't reject any painting, however strange it might be. Although we haven't understood the point of this order, it was given by our King and we can't ignore it."
"All right," said another of the nobles, "but put this painting over there in that corner, where it can hardly be seen."
The day came for his Majesty the King to decide on the winning entry. On arriving at the exhibition hall, his face lit up. But as he made his way through the exhibition his face became more and more morose.
"Your Majesty, do none of these paintings satisfy you?" asked one of the nobles.
"Yes, yes they are very beautiful, there's no doubt about that, but there's something lacking in all of them."
The King had got to the end of the exhibition without finding what he so wished to find when, suddenly he noticed a painting sticking out in a corner.
" What is that there which is hardly visible?"
"It's another painting, your Majesty."
"And why have you placed is so far apart from the others?"
"Your Majesty, it's a painting painted by a lunatic. We would have rejected it but following your orders about accepting all paintings that were sent to us, we decided to place it in a corner so as not to affect the beauty of the rest."
The King , who had a natural curiosity, went up to the strange painting which seemed so difficult to appreciate. Then he did something which none of the members of the court had done. He went nearer to it and looked at it in more detail. It was then that, all of a sudden, his face lit up and raising his voice, declared, "This is , without a doubt, the winning entry!"
The nobles glanced at each other, perplexed, thinking that the King had gone mad. One of them, shyly, asked him, "Your Majesty, we've never disputed your commands but, what do you see in that painting to make it the winner?"
"You hadn't looked properly, come closer."
When the nobles got up close, the King showed them something among the rocks. It was a small nest where there was a newly- born bird. The mother was feeding it, totally detached from the storm taking place around her.
The King explained to them that this was just what he wished to show his son, the Prince.
"Serenity does not come from living in an ideal world as is reflected in the other paintings with their calm seas and clear skies. Serenity is the capacity to keep your attention on what is a priority for you, despite the difficult circumstances."
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