copyright© Dave Van Dyke 2015
Once upon a time there was a kingdom that had a very loving King. The king’s name was Artemis and he had a son whose name was Julian. On Julian’s seventeenth birthday (and his coronation), the King, being an artist, painted his son’s portrait. The King felt it was the most loving gift he could give.
Julian was honored by this gesture and was very grateful to his father. As a young boy he loved and admired his father greatly and wanted to be like him. But now, as a young man, his interests began to turn toward the world. What was outside these castle walls he wondered? Life in this kingdom was nice, to be sure…but it was always the same. Was there something different outside these walls?
Time passed and the prince found life in the palace somewhat boring. He found a way to slip outside the castle walls unnoticed so he could discover what else life might hold in store. Once he was outside the walls it was an easy walk to the city below. He went to a market square where there was all kinds of activity. As he arrived he was excited by all the color, noise and chaos. So much for the senses to take in! It was much different than the days that passed so placidly within the castle walls. One day, while he was in the market, he saw a beautiful pendant as he perused the wares of a jewelry maker. As the jewelry maker turned his back for a moment Julian, infatuated with this piece of jewelry, stole it.
After returning to the castle, Julian felt shame and guilt about the theft but somehow could not bring himself to return the jewelry. He had never seen another pendant like it and, if he were caught trying to return it, it would bring a great dishonor upon himself and the King. He reasoned that it would be safer for everyone if he kept it.
He began to pace his room and as he walked by the portrait that his father had painted of him he felt a wave of unworthiness go through him. He felt he did not deserve the beautiful painting his father had painted. Certainly the image in the painting was too perfect. Something in his mind instructed him to find some paints and to deface the painting just a little bit.
After finding some paints Julian added some small imperfections to the face. “There!” He said. “Now you’re ugly on the outside as well as the inside”.
A few days later, it seemed as if the excitement of the world was calling to him again and he slipped outside the castle walls to go to the city below. Walking through the streets, he heard great laughter and uproar coming from a building. Curious to see what all the joy was about he entered the establishment and was struck by all the singing and comradery surrounding him. He did not recognize any of the music but started to sing the melody as best he could. Soon he had some of the words down and was able to join in with the crowd. A woman offered him a mug full of something and, wanting to be part of the fun, he accepted and began to drink. Slowly he became less inhibited and louder. Beyond that he did not feel very good and felt he needed to get back to the castle. The following morning he had a painful headache and threw up several times. Again he began to feel guilty and again defiled the portrait his father had given him.
Over time he noticed that his experiences outside the castle walls were only moderately satisfying. They were not always happy even if he had the intention of making them so. He realized that in the past five years he had stolen, lied, gotten drunk and become more selfish. He came to regard others as a threat. With each excursion into the city, he felt that the castle was becoming less and less his home and that his real life was part of the city below.
Julian began to hate the portrait his father had painted for him. All it did was make him feel that he had failed to live up to the image his father had given him. It was now so covered with paint that it was a parody of the original portrait his father had given him. He had RUINED his father’s portrait! His disdain for the image he now saw was driving him to seek solace in the misery of the city below.
His heart aching, Julian went to a tavern in the city and sat in a crowd of people yet felt very lonely. Finding nothing to comfort him he walked through the streets seeing people go about their daily business caught up in the exchange of goods, arguing, struggling, trying to survive in this world and hoping for some scrap of happiness. Then Julian remembered that there was a time when he used to be happy. It was when he was younger. It was before he began to come down to the city. He remembered the simplicity of that existence, the innocence of it. A great longing for that time came into his heart and he returned to the castle.
Finally, being very unhappy and ashamed, Julian went to his father to tell him what he had been doing. Now in his father’s presence he said: “father I have let you down. I have been sneaking into the city to live a life apart from the beautiful life you gave me. I have stolen, I have been drunk, I have lied…I am no longer worthy to be your son”.
King Artemis looked with love on his son and told him: “my son, I have known all along that you have been going down to see the city. But that doesn’t change my love for you. How could you think that my love would ever change? The way I see you is still perfect, as perfect as the picture I painted five years ago. Let us go look at it together”.
Julian panicked and resisted his father’s request. But finally it was obvious that his father would not change his mind. Finally Julian admitted that he had defiled his father’s picture of him.
King Artemis looked with compassion upon his son and told him that it would not be possible to defile such a beautiful image. Julian felt even more ashamed at this point. He knew that he would now have to show his father the painting in order for him to believe that it really had been defiled.
King Artemis and Julian stood together and looked upon the painting. After a long silence King Artemis said to Julian: “there! You see? It is still beautiful”. Julian looked at his father in disbelief. “Father! Can you not see what I have done“?! The king said gently: “what I see in front of the perfection is easily removed”. Julian said: “how can this be? I painted on top of your masterpiece and now it is ruined”. King Artemis smiled and said: “nothing has changed from the day I created this beautiful image of you and if you let me, I will show you that it is still beautiful.”
Julian was mystified by what his father was saying but agreed to let the king show him how this image could still be perfect. King Artemis went over to the painting and, moving his hand up close to the painting, tapped it with a large royal ring on his finger.
The image shattered. All of Julian’s painting had been done on a layer of glass that protected the original painting. There, protected and unchanged, was the perfect, original image that his father had created.
Julian was relieved and grateful that his father’s love had not changed. By accepting the grace of his gift he was able to forgive himself.
King Artemis told his son that he need not be ashamed or feel guilty about going out into the world. He said; “my Son, it is with the greatest of love that I tell you this; I want for you what you want for yourself. I will never judge you for what you desire because I know that behind all your desires is the desire to love only your Father.”
Julian had assumed his father would be upset to know of this desire to explore life so he hid the desire away instead of simply knowing that his father’s love would be with him no matter what he did.
Knowing that his father’s love for him could not change gave him great courage and peace. This allowed him to accept others as they were. From that day forth Julian was a great teacher of love in his own life and others.
– The End –
