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.

Recently we took a short vacation break that included three nights in London. But where to stay? My husband mentioned hotel names to me that supplier had offered. I couldn't help but be intrigued with name "Selfridge's". After all, wasn't that name of biggest department store in London? I remembered it being equal to Macy's in New York City. I said, "Let's go with that one." And we did.

I was hoping hotel was close to department store but I never dreamed it would be so close! It was literally outside back door of store -- about 50 feet from all giant food halls that are a part of store. I was shocked! This was a dream come true. I could wake up and go for breakfast by roaming food halls that brought in delicacies from around world, and I could stop there after touring and have a snack or lunch, again from anywhere in world!