This book suggests that saying yes to everything and avoiding conflict is making you unhappy

A young monk decided, “To keep peace, I’ll agree with everyone.”

First, a villager said, “Tea is better than meditation.”

The monk nodded, “Yes, absolutely.”

Another said, “Meditation is better than tea.”

The monk nodded again, “Yes, absolutely.”

Soon, two villagers argued: “Life is suffering!”

“No, life is joy!”

Both turned to the monk. He smiled, “Yes, absolutely.”

Finally, the Zen master asked, “Is agreeing with everyone the path to peace?”

The monk grinned, “Yes, absolutely.”

The master laughed, “Then you’ve agreed to nonsense. Peace is not in saying yes – it lies in knowing when to say no without anger.”

Blind agreement does not create peace – it creates confusion (and really bad tea debates).

Oh, to live in a world where “peace” is just a polite nod and a murmured “I agree!” If only maintaining harmonious relationships were as simple as perfecting the art of the agreeable sigh. But alas, dear reader, life – and genuine human connection – is far more nuanced and considerably less quiet than that.

We have been sold a bill of goods, haven’t we? A particularly flimsy one, wrapped in the deceptively appealing paper of “peacekeeping”. The central tenet of this grand deception? It is that to maintain tranquillity, one must simply agree. Just… agree. No matter what the inner voice screams, no matter how much your gut twists...

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