An artist who had painted many pictures of great beauty found that he had not yet painted the 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 or creed， you will find it——‘faith is the most beautiful thing in the world.”

The artist traveled on. Later， he met a young bride who told him that 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 weary soldier.

The artist asked him the same question and the soldier answered， “‘peace is the most beautiful thing in the world.”

War is ugly， and wherever you find peace， youll 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 surrounding.

As he entered the doorway， light glistened in his eyes and he realized that his search was over.

In the faces of his wife and children， he saw love and faith. “Not a minute passed by that our children and l had not thought of you. We prayed that you would return to us safely.” His wife said as they embraced him. He sat on his favorite old chair and his heart was at peace.

The artist painted the most beautiful thing in the world and called it HOME.

一位画过许多杰出精美画作的艺术家，发现自己甚至连一幅“真实”的画都没有画出来。

他沿着一条布满尘土的路追寻，遇到一位年老的牧师。牧师问他要去哪里。

艺术家回答：“我不知道，我想画世界上最美好的事物。也许你能给我指引。”

“太简单了，”牧师说，“在任何教堂或信条中，你都会发现——‘信仰是世界上最美好的事物。”

艺术家继续前行。后来，他遇到一位年轻的新娘，她告诉他世界上最美好的事物是“爱”。“爱”使世界运转。它让贫穷变得富有，让泪水变得甜蜜，让渺小变得伟大。没有爱就没有美好。

艺术家继续他的追寻，他遇到一名疲惫不堪的士兵。

艺术家问了他同样的问题，士兵回答：“‘和平是世界上最美好的事物。”

战争丑恶无比，你在哪里能找到了和平，也就找到了美、信仰与爱。

“信仰、爱与和平——我怎样才能把它们画出来呢？”艺术家想。

当他重新开始旅途时，脑子里想着自己希望画出来的“真实”之作。他惊讶地发现自己想都没想要往哪儿走，就已经到了熟悉的环境。

当他走进房门，眼睛里发出一丝光芒，他知道自己的追寻结束了。

在妻子和孩子们脸上，他看到了爱与信仰。“我和孩子们没有一刻不在想你。我们为你的平安归来而祈祷。”他们相拥时，妻子这样说道。他坐在最喜欢的旧椅子上，内心一片安宁。

艺术家画出了世界上最美好的事物，称它为《家》。