Only when we have achieved inner peace can we hope to achieve world peace. Once Buddha was walking with a few of his disciples. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. As Buddha was thirsty, he asked one of his disciples to get some water from the lake. When he reached the lake he noticed that a few people were washing their clothes in the lake. As a result, the water had become muddy and foul. The disciple could not possibly take the dirty water to Buddha. So he returned and told him the water was dirty and not fit to drink. A half hour later, Buddha again asked the disciple to get water from the same lake. This time, however, the disciple noticed that the water was crystal clean. The mud had settled down and the water was fit to drink. So he collected some water in a pot and took it to Buddha. Buddha looked at the pot of water and smiled. He said, See what you did to make the water clean? You did nothing. You just let it be. The mud settled on its own and you got pure water. Your mind is exactly like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it some time. It will settle down on its own. You do not have to put any effort to calm your mind. It will happen. It is effortless. Achieving inner peace is an effortless process which will happen on its own. The practice of mindfulness is where one observes the thoughts without reacting to them.