Dear Friends & Colleagues,
Meister Eckhart, the 14th century German mystic, wrote, "If the only prayer you ever say is 'thank you,' that would be enough."
Contemporary researchers echo his contention that — just as you were taught as a child — the words "thank you" are indeed magic words.
Professor Martin Seligman, a leading figure in the positive psychology movement, has spent a great deal of time studying human happiness, and has found that an essential ingredient of happiness is gratitude — which has the power to amplify good memories of the past.
"The more positive memories you have, and the stronger they are, the better your chances of achieving contentment, serenity and satisfaction," Seligman says.
Gratitude for today and tomorrow — in the form of a sense of purpose and engagement in the present, and hope and optimism for the future — are all part of happiness, too.
As we end this year and begin another, we'd like to say "thank you" to all of you for your readership, and to wish each of you a very happy and healthy holiday season. We hope you'll join us in taking the time to invest in your happiness by reflecting with gratitude upon the past year, and with appreciation for the opportunities of the year to come.
Delicious wishes,
Andrew & Karen
P.S. Not all of you received our holiday greetings last year due to an unfortunate technical glitch, so we've echoed them with this message.
Andrew by the vineyard at Rancho La Puerta in Mexico last week; the oak tree at the
very
top of his photo is the same one under which Karen is pictured at right
T'S BEEN ANOTHER YEAR with its share of challenges, yet with even more for which to be grateful. In November, two days after Karen attended the