In Simply Being

The village clung to the cliffs above the sea, its pastel houses stacked like colorful stones. The sky was always blue, and the waves gentle. The people of the village lived simple lives, fishing in the mornings and sharing meals in the evenings. They smiled often and knew every name, and the air was always filled with the scent of lemons and the sound of laughter.

Yet, the people were restless. The world beyond their village called to them with promises of more. More wealth, more excitement, more everything. They looked out at the horizon, dreaming of cities where the streets were paved with gold, and happiness was just another thing you could buy. They spoke of leaving, of chasing that elusive something.

One by one, they left the village. First, the young man who wanted to be rich, then the couple who thought the city lights would brighten their lives. Even the old fisherman, who had once said the sea was his home, decided to see what was out there.

The village grew quiet. The houses stood empty, their colors faded in the sun. The sea still whispered against the shore, but there was no one left to listen.

Years passed, and some of the villagers returned, but they were different. They had seen the world and found it loud, cold, and full of empty promises. They carried the weight of disappointment in their eyes and the exhaustion of chasing something they could never catch. They sat by the sea again, but they no longer spoke of leaving. They knew now what they had not before.

The village never regained its former life. The houses never quite shone as brightly, and the air never seemed as sweet. But those who stayed found a quiet peace in the rhythm of the waves, the sun setting into the sea each evening. They learned that happiness had never been out there, beyond the horizon. It had been within them all along.

And so, the village remained, a place of faded colors and gentle peace. Those who passed through felt it—a stillness that spoke of contentment, not in things or places, but in simply being.

The moral of the story is that peace is not in the world beyond, but in the world within. Those who seek happiness elsewhere will find only the echo of what they left behind.