At peace with life

There was once a little swan and every time he flew down towards the water, he would see a perfect swan rise up to meet him; but once he had landed the other had vanished. 

 




Sometimes when he was quietly floating down the river on a calm day he would see the other swan beside him; but whenever he tried to paddle faster to get a good look, he would disappear.  Mostly the little swan could see his elusive friend out of the corner of his eye but if the river wasn’t calm, there was no sign of him.

One day when the sun was very low in the sky, and he was feeling rather lonely, out of the golden light appeared the biggest, whitest swan he had ever seen.  It glided alongside him without a sound and looked at him with large kindly eyes.
 

 

 

 

The little swan looked up timidly and knew he had to ask what was on his mind.  “Why is it that I can only glimpse my friend at certain times, but never if I am paddling fast to catch him?  He is so beautiful, I would like to see him more clearly.”

The big white swan turned his regal head and the setting sun turned all his feathers to gold.

“Your friend is your reflection in the water, the tranquil half of you.  You see him when you are at peace and all around you is calm; when the waters of life are not stirred up by the mud of confusion.  You lose him when you disturb the surface of the water, or around you there is commotion.  A swan’s first duty in life is to present a picture of pure unruffled tranquillity, of harmony with our surroundings, in order to be an example of how life should be.  Even when the water is rippled, or you are swimming hard against the current, imagine how you feel on the days when you can see your reflection.  And you will find yourself at peace.”

And with that, the great golden swan rose from the water and flew silently away.