Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. – Nathaniel Hawthorne

In this quote, the butterfly is a metaphor for happiness. N. Hawthorne beautifully compared happiness with a butterfly to explain a message given to us by our Mother Nature.

We know that it is very difficult to catch a butterfly. The more we will chase it, the more we will lose the chance to catch it. If we continue to try and catch a butterfly, it will elude us. But on the other hand, if we concentrate on the other things around us apart from the butterfly, then it will slowly come and will sit on our shoulders.

By comparing happiness with a butterfly, N. Hawthorne showed us that it is the same case with happiness. This means that if we try to chase happiness and forget about every other thing, then it will leave us and the more we will pursue it, the farther our pleasure will go.

So, we must concentrate on the other aspects of our life, focus on our duties, family, friends, responsibilities and fulfill them, and simply live our life fully. Very soon, the happiness we deserve will come into our way.

Even if distracting yourself from the beauty of the wings of the butterfly seems very difficult initially, but you have to wait for a better result. Similarly, if the beginning seems difficult and sad, still we should not lose our hopes, and eventually, you will find your happiness. After all, we know, “The harder you wait, the sweeter you get“.