JOHN O'NEIL is President of the Center for Leadership Renewal and an advisor to leadership teams, a director of numerous company and foundation boards, and the author of The Paradox of Success and other books.
DIANA LANDAU is a freelance writer.
"What do you say?"
"Thank you."
Maybe it's because we're always reminding our children to say it, or because our parents kept reminding us to say it, but we rarely stop and think about those two little words we use all the time.
Thank you.
Don't just say it. Feel it. Try this. Close your eyes. Sit up straight. Take deep breath. As you exhale think . . . thank you.
Do it again, please.
Thank you.
Who were you thanking? God? The Universe? Yourself? No one in particular? It doesn't really matter. It feels good no matter who you're thanking -- especially when it's for nothing, or everything.
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."
Cicero said that and so do the Rev. Alan Jones, the dean of Grace Cathedral, and John O'Neil, the president of the Center for Leadership Renewel, in a simple and wise new book called "Seasons of Grace -- The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude". (SF Chronicle, January 26, 2003)