Being content is a state of mind. What do you really need to be happy?

The more ambitious you are, the more likely it will be that you will be discontent with your lot. Controlling your own wants, needs and expectations is difficult.

Have you ever experienced something amazing – be it a place, a meal, or a musical interlude? What did you think about when you were experiencing it? Were you in the moment, or were you thinking when I can experience this again? Did you try to experience it again?

We can often find beauty in unexpected places. It is generally a function of our awareness, state of mind and what we choose to focus on.

This spread contains one of my favourite verses:

We can never be sure what the ultimate results of our actions will be.

The Universe And The Mad Butterfly was written by Pratish Mistry and published in June 2006 in London by Mystic Tree. The accompanying illustrations are by Shilpashree Balaram.

Over the following months, I will be posting a number of pages and spreads from the book online. I will title and write a brief introduction to each post but really the aim is to get your thoughts and perspectives on the verses.