I read this delightful tiny book, all of 68 pages titled “The Answer Is No” recently. Frankly the title caught my attention … who is this person who says “no” so easily ?
Lucas is the guy whose answer is always no and he is perfectly happy. He never alters his routine and doesn’t meet with any of his neighbours. Works from home and plays a video game every single day. Hmmmm … The book actually makes you think about happiness and all that we do in pursuit of it.
Here are a few excerpts that just struck home –
“… Lucas is happy. This is a very provoking thing to the world. Because people aren’t supposed to be happy, they’re only supposed to want to be happy. ” In the same paragraph “… More than anything people are supposed to pretend to be happy on the internet so that other people are reminded of how unhappy they themselves are by comparison.”
How true is that !! We see a FB post or an Instagram post of a friend travelling to some exotic location and immediately, FOMO sets in. We feel a tad bit unhappy because we have XYZ reasons why we can’t travel :).
The secret of Lucas’ happiness is summed up in one sentence – “…. All he did was to remove the one thing that makes almost all people unhappy: other people.”
But unfortunately for poor Lucas, the doorbell rings one fine day and then several times a day as he is pulled into solving some issues for the condominium. Despite all his reservations, he is forced into speaking with some neighbours and becoming friends even.
Yet another profound statement at the mid-point of the book – “…But I think most people who want to be happy try to add things to their lives. But really what maybe they should be doing is taking something away.”
Ofcourse the book finishes with yet another great observation – “… Because the doctors and nurses understand very well that all the modern pills and treatments are surely great, but sometimes what people really need most of all is a prescription for a break.”
Hey, get your prescription for a break and don’t bother about who else is happy or unhappy :).
My rating – 5/5. A must read.