"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
About this Quote
This quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne talks to the concept that happiness is something that is often short lived and hard to catch. It is like a butterfly, which is constantly just out of reach when we try to pursue it. However, Hawthorne recommends that if we take a step back and take a minute to be still, happiness may come to us. This speaks with the concept that sometimes we need to take a break from our pursuit of happiness and allow it to come to us. It is a pointer that we should not be too tough on ourselves when we are not rejoicing, which we should make the effort to be still and allow joy to come to us. It is a tip that happiness is something that we ought to not require, but rather something that we need to allow to come to us naturally.
"The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom"
