See a gallery of 12 quotes on gratitude.

  • Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
    — Karl Barth in Joy by Beverly Elaine Eanes
  • Think of something for which you are grateful today. Say thanks.
    I am grateful to You, Giver and Sustainer of life, for having granted me another day of life. Your love and faith in me is truly overwhelming.
    — Rabbi Terry Bookman in The Busy Soul
  • The generosity of God in sharing the goodness of creation with us can elicit only one possible response — that of gratitude.
    — Esther de Waal quoted in To Everything a Season by Bonnie Thurston
  • I think the dying pray at the last not "please," but "thank you," as a guest thanks his host at the door.
    — Annie Dillard quoted in Super, Natural Christians by Sallie McFague
  • Continuous practice, day after day, is the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude. This means that you practice continuously, without wasting a single day of your life, without using it for your own sake. Why is it so? Your life is a fortunate outcome of the continuous practice of the past. You should express your gratitude immediately.
    — Zen Master Dogen quoted in Enlightenment Unfolds edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi
  • Gratitude is the state of mind of thankfulness. As it is cultivated, we experience an increase in our "sympathetic joy," our happiness at another's happiness. Just as in the cultivation of compassion, we may feel the pain of others, so we may begin to feel their joy as well. And it doesn't stop there.
    — Stephen Levine in A Year to Live
  • Gratitude is the intention to count-your-blessings every day, every minute, while avoiding, whenever possible, the belief that you need or deserve different circumstances.
    — Timothy Miller in How To Want What You Have
  • Notice when you say or someone near you says "Thank you." Think of those two words as a signpost to the spiritual world.
    — Lewis Richmond in Work as a Spiritual Practice
  • Sanctity has to do with gratitude. To be a saint is to be fueled by gratitude, nothing more and nothing less.
    — Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing
  • Look closely and you will find that people are happy because they are grateful. The opposite of gratefulness is just taking everything for granted.
    — David Steindl-Rast in The Music of Silence
  • Another reason we turn logical with our gratitude is that it is terrifying. The wonder of a moment in which there is nothing but an upwelling of simple happiness is utterly awesome. Gratitude is so close to the bone of life, pure and true, that it instantly stops the rational mind, and all its planning and plotting. That kind of let go is fiercely threatening. I mean, where might such gratitude end?
    — Regina Sara Ryan in Praying Dangerously
  • Any moment that opens us up to the reality that life is good is a parable of the supreme end for which we were made.
    — Lewis B. Smedes in How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?
  • For many of us, the computer is the means by which we earn a living. To give it a nod, then, is a way of thanking the tool for what it provides in life. It helps put bread on the table and a roof overhead. It gives us work and pleasure, exercises our minds, brings us information, connects us with other people. It is a partner helping us achieve our goals. Nodding also thanks the unseen hands and minds who helped create our machine.
    — Philip Toshio Sudo in Zen Computer
  • It is important not only to be grateful to others but also to be grateful for others. We need to cultivate a gratitude for others' giftedness in the same way that we appreciate a beautiful sunset or a smile from a loved one. Others always seem to have been given gifts in life that we desire, and so it's easy to be envious. Riding sidesaddle with envy is a dangerous practice: I would be happy if I had what he or she possesses. By contrast, giving thanks constantly and in all circumstances liberates us from envy.
    — Edward Hays in The Great Escape Manual
  • Gratitude is here presented as more than a feeling, a virtue, or an experience; gratitude emerges as an attitude we can freely choose in order to create a better life for ourselves and for others. The Nigerian Hausa put it this way: Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.
    — David Steindl-Rast quoted in Words of Gratitude by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
  • To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us — and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.
    — Thomas Merton quoted in Words of Gratitudeby Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
  • To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
    — Johannes A. Gaertner quoted in Words of Gratitude by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
  • The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything.
    — Albert Schweitzer quoted in Words of Gratitude by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
  • There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.
    — Ralph H. Blum quoted in Words of Gratitude by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill

More Quotes about Gratitude