An artist who had painted many pictures of great beauty found he had not yet painted one “real” picture.
In his search along a dusty road, he met an aged priest who asked him where he was going. “I do not know,” said the artist. “I want to paint the most beautiful thing in the world. Perhaps you can direct me to it.” “How simple,” replied the priest. “In any church, you will find ‘Faith' is the most beautiful thing in the world.”
The artist travelled on. Later, he met a young bride who told him the most beautiful thing in the world is “Love”. “Love” makes the world go round. It builds poverty into riches, sweetens tears and makes much of little. Without love there is no beauty.
Still the artist continued his search and met a tired soldier. The artist asked him the same question and the soldier answered “Peace” is the most beautiful thing. War is ugly and wherever you find peace you'll find beauty, faith and love.
“How can I paint them — Faith, Love and Peace?” thought the artist. As he resumed his walk, his mind wondered on the “real” picture he hoped to paint. He was surprised that without thinking where he was going, he had reached his familiar surroundings. As he entered the doorway, light glistened in his eyes and he realized his search was over.
In the faces of his wife and children, he saw Love and Faith. “Not a minute has passed when our children and I did not think of you. We prayed that you would return to us safely,” his wife said as they embraced him. He sat on his favorite chair and his heart was at peace.
The artist painted the most beautiful thing in the world and called it “Home”.
一位画尽美景的艺术家觉得自己还没有画过一幅“真正的”画。
他沿着一条尘土飞扬的路一路找来，碰到一位年迈的神父。神父问他要去哪里。“我不知道，”艺术家说，“我想画出世界上最美的事物。或许您能为我指点迷津。”“这多简单啊，”神父说，“随便去一间教堂，你都会发现世上最美的是‘信仰’。”
艺术家继续上路。后来，他遇到一位年轻的新娘，新娘告诉他世上最美的是“爱”。是“爱”让地球转动不息。是“爱”将贫穷孕于富有、让泪水不再苦涩、让渺小变得伟大。没有爱，美就无从谈起。
艺术家还是继续寻找，他遇到一位疲惫的战士。艺术家问了他相同的问题，战士说“和平”才是最美的。战争皆丑恶，但凡和平处必有美丽、信仰和爱。
“我怎么才能把这些都画出来呢——信仰，爱和和平？”艺术家想。他一边继续往前走，一边在脑中琢磨自己想要创作的“真正的”画。令他惊讶的是，他想都没想要去哪儿，就来到了自己熟悉的地方。一进门，他的眼里就闪出了光芒，他意识到自己的寻美之旅画上了句号。
在妻子和孩子们的脸上，他看到了爱和信仰。“我和孩子没有一分钟是不想着你的。我们都祈祷你能平安回来。”家人拥抱他的时候，妻子这么说。他坐在自己最喜欢的椅子上，心中一片平静安宁。
艺术家终于画出了世上最美的东西，他给它取名叫作“家”。
-glisten [ˈɡlɪsn] v. 闪耀
德国著名思想家、作家、科学家约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe，1749—1832)说过：“无论是国王还是农夫，家庭和睦是最幸福的。”