Monday, November 14, 2011

Quote for the Week - Gratitude

Roman philosopher Cicero once said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

I think he is absolutely right.  An ungrateful person focuses on what they don’t have and is unhappy, discontent, impatient, unkind, proud (thinks he deserves better), and reluctant to help others.  But a grateful person is happy and content. From that gratitude flows patience, kindness, humility, generosity, and love.

So, to raise the level of gratitude in my own life and in those around me, here are 25 Thanksgiving and gratitude quotes for you to read, reflect on, and share. 

Happy Thanksgiving!
  1. When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. -Tony Robbins
  2. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.  -Melody Beattie
  3. Gratitude begins where my sense of entitlement ends. -Steven Furtick
  4. I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. -G.K. Chesterton
  5. If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get. -Frank A. Clark
  6. Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It’s a way to live. -Jacqueline Winspear
  7. He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. -Epictetus
  8. Gratitude is the best attitude. -Unknown
  9. Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. -W.T. Purkiser
  10. We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. -Thornton Wilder
  11. Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all. -William Faulkner
  12. If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness.  It will change your life mightily. -Gerald Good
  13. There is no greater difference between men than between grateful and ungrateful people. -R.H. Blyth
  14. Who does not thank for little will not thank for much. -Estonian Proverb
  15. Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. -Henry Ward Beecher
  16. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. -John F. Kennedy
  17. Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things. -Horace
  18. Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward
  19. It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, and to be grateful for His benefits. -George Washington
  20. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. -Cicero
  21. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. -Psalm 107:1
  22. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. -Psalm 92:1
  23. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. -Psalm 95:2
  24. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. -Colossians 3:16
  25. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18