Friday 27 November 2009

A Mind to Be Grateful

Many of us spend this time of year thinking about how thankful we are. I searched to find some of the greatest thoughts and ideas ever shared on gratitude.

Albert Schweitzer teaches us to be grateful for those who inspire us.
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.


Meister Eckhart puts gratitude in perspective with two simple words.
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.

David Steindl-Rast reminds us to enjoy our current achievements.

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more.

G. K. Chesterton encourages us to be grateful in all things.
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play 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.

President Kennedy compels us to live a life of action.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

Melodie Beattie empowers us with the idea of being grateful for our past, our present, and our future.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.