On Wednesday, I went to NYC to do my monthly television show, The Enchanted Self. I took subway (or I should say, I tried to take subway) downtown to Chambers St. to do a bit of shopping beforehand. As I waited on platform I saw one of those truly unique characters that could only be either a true eccentric living in NYC or a character actor. Which was he in his frock coat and derby hat? I was so busy imagining! Suddenly we were on same train together. He asked how to get to Chambers St. and I told him. Then I suggested he cross platform at 14th St. to hop express, which I was about to do. He did and that was beginning of an adventure. First of all, subway car started and we suddenly realized it was going uptown, not downtown. Secondly, he told me that he had to get downtown to Chambers St. to stop in at new home of The New York Sun magazine. He had been hired by them to promote new paper. Ah! He was a character actor. I was so excited.

Oh, sure, Christmas is grand, and I know it has many, many fans. I'm not knocking Christmas, but Thanksgiving is more important. And Easter has its fans, too. Rebirth is a wonderful thing, but I still say Thanksgiving is more important. Yes, kids might put in a good word for Halloween. I am sure they enjoy costumes and sugar overdose, but Thanksgiving is more important.

Why?

Because two most important words in English language are "Thank You". This is true for business success, for social pleasure, even for self-actualization.

For business success, a thank you tells a prospect or partner that you are appreciative of what she has just done. It shows you have a genuine interest in that person and business relationship.

For social interaction, expressing gratitude is equally important to show how you value other person and social relationship you have with him. Thank you is a bonding phrase.

But thanksgiving is most important on a personal level for our own happiness. This is true for anybody who has ever lived, but it is even more true for us today.

Consider how much we have. More than any of our ancestors, we live in Land of Plenty. We have more than anybody who lived at any time before. And for those of us who live in developed world, we have more than most people on our little planet even today.

I'm not just talking about "stuff". Oh, sure, we have digital color televisions and computers that take us around world faster than speed of sound. And we have 31 flavors of ice cream waiting for us on every second street corner. And we throw out more "junk" than we ever needed to own in first place.

But we have so much more than just stuff. Consider following:

FREEDOM: More of world lives in a democracy than ever before, and democracy is becoming more open or "democratic" with every year (perhaps in part due to Internet).

OPPORTUNITIES: With freedom and affluence comes opportunity. We have more opportunity to make more money, to earn it way we wish, to choose our profession, our location, even our lifestyle. Women have just about reached equality with men in most of developed world, and more people are able to flee oppressive regimes.