A.J. Cronin tells of a doctor he knew who prescribed in certain cases of neuroses what he called his "thank-you cure." When a patient came to him discouraged, pessimistic, and full of his own woes, but without any symptoms of serious ailment, he would give this advice: "For six weeks I want you to say 'Thank you' whenever anyone does you a favor, and to show you mean it emphasize the words with a smile." "But no one ever does me a favor, doctor," the patient might complain. Whereupon, borrowing from scripture, the wise old doctor would reply: "Seek and you will find." Six weeks later, more often than not, the patient would return with quite a new outlook, freed of a sense of grievance against life, and convinced that people had suddenly become more kind and friendly.

In the scripture we r…