I had been spewing my thoughts for a while, so I wasn't sure if Ben was still listening. He turned towards me again and raised his eyebrows.

"Let me get this straight. You're asking what the ultimate masterpiece would be, if there were such a thing, right?"

I smiled. He had been listening after all.

"Yes, well, I came upon the question while I was reflecting on my future. I mean, it doesn't matter who you are, everyone creates something! Artists create art, people in business create a product and happy customers, doctors and therapists create wholeness where there was brokenness and injury, and the list just keeps going."

He nodded, turning to gaze out the window as I continued.

"Then, if I am to create something with my time and effort, what would be the most worthwhile creation, or, in other words, the ultimate masterpiece?"

The customary moment of silence followed. Ben never spoke until he had thought about what he was going to say for at least 30 seconds.

"I guess that depends. How are you going to measure its worth? Are you looking for something that will make you rich and famous? Do you want kudos from, I dunno, God, or someone else? You have to answer the question about what's worthwhile to you before you can follow this line of inquiry any further."

I smiled again at his choice of words. I had been fond of Ben's vocabulary ever since I first met him.

"Hmm, well I guess I would want to create something beautiful for sure. But I would want it to be a universal beauty, like something that anyone could, and would, appreciate. The problem is, I don't know if that kind of beauty exists."

He sat completely still except for his thumb, which began to slowly rub his chin as he thought. Eventually he brought his hands together and interlaced his fingers, turning to look me in the eye.

"Now, you're getting really philosophical with this, but if I had to give an answer, I would say there is such a beauty, even though we don't see it very often. Everyone has the potential to harness it, too. I would even go so far as to say that anyone who tapped into it would have no trouble creating their own ultimate masterpiece. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Confused, I paused. Then I realized what he was saying.

"Wait, but if that's true, then there wouldn't be just one masterpiece. That doesn't seem very ultimate to me."

I must have frowned, because his face broke into a little grin.

"I think you could still call them ultimate, but no, there wouldn't be just one. There would have to be at least the possibility of more than one, or nobody would get to create anything once the ultimate masterpiece was completed. Can you imagine how horrible that would be?"

I slowly nodded. He was right. After a few moments, I realized the conversation was waiting on me to ask another question. As my mind scrambled to think of what to say, I looked over at Ben. He sat so calmly in the afternoon sunlight, his mouth still bent in a thoughtful smile. His comfort with the silence was contagious, so I took a deep breath, and let the moment stretch on a little longer. When I was ready to speak again, I went slowly.

"Okay, so in that case, what is this creation with potential for ultimate beauty that everybody has access to? And why haven't I heard of it before?"

This time he spoke immediately.

"Oh, you've heard of it. You still don't know what it is?"

This time his grin bothered me. I just couldn't figure out his conclusion. I shook my head and raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to respond.

"Well, I may be wrong, but the only thing I could think of that fits all your criteria is yourself. Your heart, your soul, or whatever else you might call it, has infinite potential for beauty, goodness, love, and anything else you, or anyone else for that matter, could need. All it would take is a bit of shaping, and you could be your very own ultimate masterpiece."

I got up from the chair.

"I'll have to think about that. It sounds right to me, but I'm not sure yet. Anyway, it's really about time for dinner, and all this deep thinking has made me hungry!"

Ben, realizing I was done with conversation for the moment, followed me eagerly into the kitchen.