 
Dear Friends,
During these difficult times when it's all too easy to focus on what is lacking, we appreciate reminders to be grateful for all we do have.
We gained a new perspective on Friday morning when we returned to All Souls' Friday Soup Kitchen in Manhattan, which is run by our friend and Karen's fellow Harvard alumna Ashley Garrett. The number of "neighbors in economic crisis" to whom we served lunch seemed even greater than on our last visit.
After we made our way through the snowstorm that afternoon, our crowded but warm one-bedroom apartment suddenly felt like a palace. We gave thanks for it.
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 we were taught as children — 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 keys to happiness.
So, 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 your blessings of the past year, and by appreciating the opportunity to pursue new dreams in the year to come.
Delicious wishes,
Karen & Andrew
P.S. This week as Andrew celebrates the fifth decade of his existence, THE FLAVOR BIBLE celebrates the third month of its own by being cited as the "#5 Most Wished-For Cookbook" on Amazon.com. Our thanks to all of you for your good wishes and support!
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
527 Third Ave. Suite 130
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 642-5870
Email: DornenburgPage@aol.com
Web: www.becomingachef.com
Blog: www.becomingachef.com/blog.dwt.php |
