Author: Bhagavati (Sharon) Nani

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The Real Meaning Of Peace

The story below was posted by my friend, Kavita, in New Zealand. In these times of crisis on top of crisis, and crazy added to more crazy, it really struck a deep chord in me. So I’ve decided to share it in its entirety.

The Real Meaning Of Peace
Author Unknown

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. The contest stirred the imagination of artists everywhere. Many artists wanted a chance at winning the prize. Paintings from far and wide began to arrive.

The king looked at all the pictures, uncovering one peaceful scene after another as the on-lookers clapped and cheered. The tensions grew as only two pictures remained veiled. As the king pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.

It was a picture of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace. Surely this was the winner.

The king uncovered the last painting, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace? This picture had mountains like the previous painting 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; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw a little bird had built a nest on a branch of a tree. A tree that reached out in the direction of the tumultuous waterfall. Yet there, in the midst of the rush of angry water, undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, sat the mother bird on her nest – in perfect peace.

The king chose the last picture.

“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.”

🙏 I’m grateful for this beautiful reminder to find my peace within. 🙏

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Ow! Tweaked again…

Shoulder less happy again; not sure why exactly. But can’t really type, except left-handed. So this is literally “all she wrote!”

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The joy of singing

After days focused on writing emails, gathering information, communicating details, replying to emails, downloading videos, extracting audio tracks, writing still more emails, etc… it was finally time to record my own videos of the wedding choir songs.

It was hot and muggy. I was hungry and a little tired. I had to set up the tripod, the smartphone, the laptop, the backing tracks. It was video, so I had to change into a jewel tone top and put on some lipstick.

Ah, but then…. it was time to sing! And it didn’t matter that I was singing all by myself in my living room, to the accompaniment of a backing track. The uplifted energy, the joy of the music, the blessing of feeling it flow through me… it was all still there, ready to soothe and heal my soul.

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A peaceful morning

I was sitting on my front patio recently and marveling at the peace and serenity of the scene. And the quiet — broken only by the occasional bird song and little critters rustling in the leaves.

I’m so grateful to be able to step out my door and soak it all in; such a contrast to the hustle and bustle that was my reality for so many years.

At any rate, I felt to try and share a few moments of the peace with you all. The video can’t fully convey it, but it’s worth a try. 🤗

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Videos and more videos

I’ve got virtual wedding choir videos coming out of my ears and I suspect I’ll be seeing them in my dreams tonight. But I’m not complaining — oh no! On the contrary, I’m grateful to be swimming in videos because it means almost everyone managed to get theirs in pretty much on time. Yay!

Oh yeah! and Ramesha and I still need to record our videos! 😂

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Doing more by doing less

So the first and foremost exercise for healing my shoulder is…resting. On my back. For as long as I can, as many times a day as I can. It’s an Egoscue exercise called Static Back and I’m beginning to see it as a metaphor for my life.

How often I’ve thought nothing would improve or heal unless I was doing something! And, hopefully, a lot of something! I’ve been thoroughly conditioned to that way of thinking and it’s driven me to accomplish a lot of things in my life, for sure.

But what about the flip side? I haven’t been very good at the “resting” part of the equation. And as I lay in static back, I have lots of time to reflect that pushing, pushing, and then pushing some more eventually results in imbalance, pain, injury, and dysfunction.

Sigh.

I’m finally ready to stop. To listen. To rest and release.

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Playing in the sprinklers

This brought back memories of being a kid…when a heat wave meant you got to play in the sprinklers! Seems to be an equally fun activity if you’re a woodpecker. 😄

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Fun on the spiritual path

Seriously tweaked my shoulder last night and it hurts to type. So here’s a happy thought to reflect on at the end of your day.

And isn’t this a great photo?!? Could be titled “exuberance!”

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Another hugging saint

https://youtu.be/YLcBRmS10lQ

A video and a song, together, really knocked me for a loop earlier today. I’ve been reflecting on exactly why all day.

I believe there were four levels of impact, each one going deeper than the one before…

I was moved first of all by the reminder that touching and being touched is one of the most basic and fundamental of our human needs. That right there is powerful.

But in this time of COVID-19, when for five full months we’ve had to maintain physical distance, witnessing all those hugs generated a visceral response within me. Something was triggered and I feel like I had an internal meltdown of sorts.

Then there’s the song (video is below). For me, these three lines seem to capture its essential message:
Everyone is hurting
Everyone is searching
Everyone is looking for the truth about love

But what really rocked my world as I watched the video was this young woman’s level of trust. To stand there, blindfolded, with her arms open…ready to receive and to give. I just can’t even begin to imagine being that trusting, that open. But it touched me so deeply that I was literally weeping by the end.

I just discovered from reading the video comments that her sign says:
Free hugs
I trust you
You can trust me

“You might think, it’s just a simple hug
but in reality it is more than it appears.
It’s the purest gift that we can offer to each other,
a moment of connection, of affection, a moment of bliss.
Body against body,
no words are necessary,
connecting to our heartbeats,
we are surrendering to the magic.
A pure moment of love,
when this time becomes enough.
Who’s giving? Who’s receiving? Yes it is quite confusing.
But it doesn’t really matter.
What truly matters is that we are opening our hearts
and from being apart we suddenly become one.”
— From Laure Kypriotis

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Thank you, friends!

I’m feeling so blessed! Yesterday’s sharing of some doubts and concerns immediately resulted in an outpouring of support and encouragement from friends far and near.

Having people in one’s corner — believing in you, praying for you, knowing that all will be well with you — makes all the difference in the world.

Thank you, friends! 💗