A young painter was traveling the world to find his muse. He searched for beauty everywhere: in mountains, seas, crowded cities. But he just couldn’t find that special inspiration he was looking for.
One day, in a small, quiet village, he met an old sage. The sage was sitting in the village square, watching the ordinary scenery around him.
The painter approached. “Great sage,” he said. “I am a painter and I am looking for my muse. I’ve traveled everywhere but haven’t found it. Can you help me?”
The sage smiled. “The muse is everywhere, my son. You just have to know how to look.”
The painter was surprised. “But I’ve looked everywhere! Magnificent sunsets, majestic waterfalls… None of them gave me that feeling.”
The sage drew a circle on the ground with his staff. “Sometimes the greatest inspiration is hidden in the most ordinary place.”
The painter despaired. “So what should I do? Where should I look?”
The sage pointed to a bench in the village square. An old man was sitting on the bench, eating a sandwich. Next to him, a cat was waiting for an opportunity to jump onto the man’s lap.
“Look there,” said the sage. “That man, that cat, that bench… They all tell a story.”
The painter looked where the sage pointed. The lines on the old man’s face, the cat’s impatient wait… Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He pulled out his canvas and quickly began to sketch.
Hours later, the painter looked at his finished work. The sage had also come to his side. The painting depicted the old man and the cat on the bench in the village square, capturing an ordinary moment. But there was such emotion in the painting that it moved everyone who saw it.
The painter shook the sage’s hand. “Thank you, sage! I found my muse! This painting turned out great!”
The sage smiled. “Yes, it’s a very beautiful painting. But I’m wondering about one thing…”
The painter asked: “What are you wondering about?”
The sage looked at the old man in the painting and whispered: “Why did you draw the salami in the man’s sandwich as a triangle? It’s usually round.“