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Quotations about Gratitude
There is a whole world of possibilities for gratitude — find one and think on it. ~Carol Westover (1944–2023), "View From My Window," 2023
There is no fairer grace to which we may all attain than the virtue of human gratitude. ~William Ellis, 1904
The test of all happiness is gratitude... ~Gilbert K. Chesterton, "The Ethics of Elfland," Orthodoxy, 1908
Wouldn't it be an exhilarating tonic for the soul to take a moment to appreciate the simple, good things in life which are so bountiful...? ~Author unknown, c.1949
...he never forgot to be grateful to people and to let them know it in letters and dedications and poems, realizing that silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone who has done a lot for you. ~G. B. Stern, Robert Louis Stevenson: The Man Who Wrote 'Treasure Island,' 1954
There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Thanking God today for the love of family, the loyalty of friends and the kindness of strangers. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com, 2020
Children are grateful when Santa Claus puts in their stockings gifts of toys or sweets. Could I not be grateful to Santa Claus when he put in my stockings the gift of two miraculous legs? ~Gilbert K. Chesterton, "The Ethics of Elfland," Orthodoxy, 1908
If we were blind for one day each year, how we would enjoy the other three hundred and sixty-four. ~Isaac Asimov
A gift is a loss, where gratitude is not the receiver. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856
Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you. ~Rumi, as interpreted by Coleman Barks
A great many men sorry they live here ought to be glad they live anywhere. ~Thomas Benjamin "Tom" Sims
For appreciation a man will do what money could not hire him to do. ~William Ellis, 1904
Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture. ~Kak Sri, @kaksri, November 2010 winner of The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter, @quotegarden
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England, 1917
Gratitude is the memory of the heart. ~Jean Massieu (1772–1846)
An attitude of gratitude is a never-ending prayer. ~William Arthur Ward, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, 1968
The three most important words in the English language are:
It made me resilient and terribly appreciative for everything good that came afterward. I felt enormous respect for food, freedom, for good health and family — for human life. ~Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993)
One can never thank people, I thought regretfully, at least not by piling gratitude on top of them like heavy American Beauty roses. One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else in life. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, "Our Early Mornings," Listen! the Wind, 1938
Perhaps you cannot make anyone's thankless task less difficult, but you can always make it less thankless. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
...I have things
To tell you: things that are not words alone—
Which are the ghosts of things—but something firmer.
"First, would I have you know, for every gift
Or sacrifice, there are—or there may be—
Two kinds of gratitude: the sudden kind
We feel for what we take, the larger kind
We feel for what we give..."
~Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935), "Captain Craig"
If you have lived, take thankfully the past;
Make, as you can, the sweet remembrance last.
~John Dryden, Aureng-Zebe, 1676
Replace fear with gratitude, and the whole world changes. ~Terri Guillemets, "A renewed outlook," 2007
Thank God for a home to-night,
For the bleak winds rage around,
And the snow falls crisp and white
And covers the frozen ground;
And it's dark, so dark, in the dismal street,
And it's cold, so cold, for the ill-shod feet,
And earth's sad ones cry
'Neath the wintry sky,
While the wild winds shriek as they hurry by.
Thank God for a home to-night,
Shut in from the outer blast,
By the fireside's cheery light,
With blinds and shutters fast;
For it's warm, so warm, by the ruddy glow,
And it's cold, so cold, in the falling snow;
And, oh! for the feet
In the frozen street,
And the houseless ones with no food to eat.
~Lizzie Marshall Berry (1847–1919), "Thank God for a Home
Thank God for a home to-night!
For the love and gladness there,
For the joy that maketh bright,
While the world is bleak and bare;
God pity the houseless ones who know
Of no shelter warm from the sleet and snow;
From the world so white,
In the moon's cold light—
Thank God for a home and a rest to-night.
~Lizzie Marshall Berry (1847–1919), "Thank God for a Home
There is not a more pleasing Exercise of the Mind than Gratitude. It is accompanied with such an inward Satisfaction, that the Duty is sufficiently rewarded by the Performance. It is not like the Practice of many other Virtues, difficult and painful, but attended to with so much Pleasure... ~Joseph Addison, The Spectator, No. 453, 1712 August 9th
May we hold every day sacred. ~Charles F. Raymond, "A Petition," Just Be Glad, 1907
Whatever be the depth of woe
Along the path that I must go,
I'll sing my song—
My song of joy for all the love
That's lavished on us from above,
And count no loss of treasure-trove
When things go wrong.
I'll sing the sunlight, and the bright
Soft smiling stars that gem the night;
For gifts of good
That God hath spread along my way,
The lilt of birds in tuneful play,
The harvests full and flowers gay,
The whole day long
I'll sing my song
Of gratitude!
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922), "My Song" (October Twenty-sixth), The Cheery Way: A Bit of Verse For Every Day, 1920
O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!
~William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part II, c.1590
Every day, spread the magical stardust of thankfulness into your life. ~Terri Guillemets
Express gratitude generously and sincerely; receive gratitude humbly and graciously; expect gratitude rarely, if ever. ~William Arthur Ward, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, 1968
O Infinite Father, I'm grateful to Thee
For the moon and the stars and deep rolling sea;
For beauties of nature, where e'er they may be...
For the handclasp of friends, so firm and so true;
For sunrise and sunset and glistening dew;
The fleecy white clouds and the Heavens, so blue;
For these wonderful gifts, dear Lord, I thank you!
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham (1880–1971), "My Song of Thanksgiving"
Thank God for the fire on a good cold day, and for home sweet home, for the kettle singing on the stove, the open grate of a friend where we may go and sit and think and rest a while. ~Charles F. Raymond, Just Be Glad, 1907
Gratitude is the sum of Great + Attitude. ~Avi Liran, @aviliran, November 2010 entry to The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter, @quotegarden
Though right it is to give Thanks,
True Gratitude will live Thanks.
~Arthur Guiterman, "Of Helpfulness," A Poet's Proverbs, 1924
There is no greater difference between men than between grateful and ungrateful people. ~Reginald Horace Blyth, c.1949
Thou that hast giv'n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a gratefull heart...
Not thankfull, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.
~George Herbert (1593–1633), "Gratefulness"
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving... ~Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931), The Prophet
The art of spirituality is truly an art of waking up... Awe, astonishment, and praise are the fruits of our wakefulness, our resurrections from dead consciousness. There follows, at the root of our being, a sense of gratitude and thankfulness. All we can say for this gift of a divine universe, divinely infused and divinely present, is
I have been enheartened by persons who have put into practice the lessons of creation ecstasies.... the single most-often repeated comment was: "Now for the first time I see a connection between my faith and my everyday life"... Natural ecstasies... are the stuff our memories were made for. They fill us up and empty us and thereby constitute our deepest prayer experiences which always culminate in
What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough. ~Bertolt Brecht, Jungle of Cities, 1923, translated by Anselm Hollo, 1965 [Shlink
Gratitude is as important for feeding your soul as eating is important for feeding your body. ~J.L.W. Brooks
But whether we have less or more,
Alway thank we God therefore...
~Author unknown, "Sir Cleges," a French metrical romance, or Fabliau, c.1300s
And though I ebb in worth, I'll flow in thanks.
~John Taylor, "A Very Merry-Wherry-Ferry Voyage," 1622 [spelling modernized
Do not take anything for granted — not one smile or one person or one rainbow or one breath, or one night in your cozy bed. ~Terri Guillemets,
For gratitude not merely stands alone at the head of all the virtues, but is even mother of all the rest. ~Cicero (106–43 BCE), translated by N.H. Watts, 1923
I humbly thank the gods benign,
For all the blessings that are mine...
The morning drips her dew for me,
Noon spreads an opal canopy.
Home-bound, the drifting cloud-crafts rest
Where sunset ambers all the west;
Soft o'er the poppy-fields of sleep,
The drowsy winds of dreamland creep.
What idle things are wealth and fame
Beside the treasures one could name!
~Robert Loveman (1864–1923)
We seldom sufficiently prize the collar-button that doesn't roll under the bureau. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1906, George Horace Lorimer, editor
We never fully appreciate the train that doesn't get off the track. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1903, George Horace Lorimer, editor
The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day. What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it. ~Michael Josephson, whatwillmatter.com
You say grace before meals.
All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and pantomime,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
~G. K. Chesterton
My socks may not match, but my feet are always warm. ~Maureen McCullough
Whatever Juice this sky will pour
this gaping parched old throat will drain;
What time the Harper harps I'll dance:
'tis He, not I, who shall complain.
Meal may be scarce and cakes be burnt,
yet I weep not nor even scold:
The sun is food enough for me,
't is large, and has not yet grown cold.
~Frederic Ridgely Torrence, The House of a Hundred Lights: A Psalm of Experience After Reading a Couplet of Bidpai, 1899
There are few who appreciate what God gives to all. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856
Give thanks because contentment only grows when you shower upon it gratefulness. ~Hasan Gopalani, @Jublani, November 2009 entry to The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter, @quotegarden
Be thankful for the little things, that always come your way,
For little things to wondrous size, perchance may grow some day.
Don't cast aside red roses, just because of one sharp thorn,
Remember it's the darkest night, that brings the brightest dawn.
~Author unknown, c.1920s
...we can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasure... ~Thornton Wilder, The Woman of Andros, 1930
Earth produces no viler creature than an ingrate. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856
One ingrate is a curse to the whole world of unfortunates. ~Publilius Syrus, 1st century BCE, from the Latin by D. Lyman, 1856
We thank thee, O Father, for all that is bright —
The gleam of the day, and the stars of the night;
The flowers of our youth, and the fruits of our prime,
And blessings e'er marching the path-way of time.
~Will Carleton, "Hymn of Thanksgiving," 1887
We thank thee, O Father of all! for the power
Of aiding each other in life's darkest hour;
The generous heart and the bountiful hand,
And all the soul-help that sad souls understand.
~Will Carleton, "Hymn of Thanksgiving," 1887
Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. ~William Arthur Ward, For This One Hour, 1969
Appreciate comfort. Also appreciate those things that knock us off course enough to realize we should appreciate the comfort. ~Terri Guillemets
Gratitude… staying humble when fate smiles on you. ~Quintus Nienaber, @Quinn25, November 2010 entry to The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter, @quotegarden
Gratitude is the glue that makes just about everything else stick. ~Terri Guillemets, "Holding it together," 2002
If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my eyes, and search for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but let me take a magnet and sweep through it, and how would it draw to itself the almost invisible particles, by the mere power of attraction! The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find every hour some heavenly blessings; only the iron in God's sand is gold. ~Henry Ward Beecher
Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. ~Aldous Huxley
Happiness is mainly a function of how many things you don't have to lose to appreciate. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? ~George Canning (1770–1827), "The Pilot that Weather'd the Storm"
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. ~President John F. Kennedy, Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1963
Fearing to lose what you have is not the same as appreciation. You have to take it a step beyond that. ~Terri Guillemets
When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren't grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick
With arms outstretched I thank.
With heart beating gratefully I love.
With body in health I jump for joy.
With spirit full I live.
~Terri Guillemets
Give thanks for the life you live, for the love you have, for the happiness you give. ~Laura, @lnw1, November 2009 entry to The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on twitter, @quotegarden
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