The Art of Balancing Butterflies on Your Nose (or Not)

This isn't one of those Zen posts that teach you How To Find Peace by Being Able to Balance Butterflies on Your Nose. Kind of like

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

Which, by the way, isn't a quote by Henry David Thoreau or Nathaniel Hawthorne.

But really, while the scene conjures images of lying on soft verdant grass on a blue sky day, trying our best not to giggle while a butterfly gently lands on our nose ...

Think of the reality if you're squeamish and hate insects. Shoo Shoo Go Away Butterfly and a panicked frenzy ensues. Or instead of taking soft focus photos of yourself with spurious motivational quotes tacked on to post on Facebook and Instagram, you realise you hate the sun and grass poking at your back, and you think it's not worth the trouble to fish for more thumbs and heart emojis.

There's what seems, and then there's what is. The trick is knowing the difference and where you ought to be spending most of your time and attention.