I read hundreds of famous quotes about gratitude while researching this post. Only a handful of these resonated with my understanding of the meaning of gratitude. This is my list – for now. I may add more quotes on gratitude while I research the subject, but for now, these are my favourites.
During our Connect with Horses Mindfulness and Meditation retreats here in the south of France, we introduce our guests to a meditation technique called a Gratitude Meditation. We often refer to these quotes to help them appreciate the value of this technique.
Several of these quotes reflect own personal my gratitude definition: that gratitude is something to express actively and not only to receive passively.
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” – Eckhart Tolle
“To be grateful is to recognise 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
“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.” – Neal A. Maxwell
“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.” – G.K. Chesterton
“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
“The more you recognise and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.” – Zig Ziglar
“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favours.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
“When we become more fully aware that our success is due in large measure to the loyalty, helpfulness, and encouragement we have received from others, our desire grows to pass on similar gifts. Gratitude spurs us on to prove ourselves worthy of what others have done for us.” – Wilferd A. Peterson
“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
In the past, I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realise that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy. – Henri J. M. Nouwen
“Authentic success is being so grateful for the many blessings bestowed on you and yours that you can share your portion with others.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
“As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it. What happens here is a spiralling ascent, a process of growth in ever expanding circles around a steady centre.” – Brother David Steindl-Rast
During our retreats we discuss the importance of gratitude, we do gratitude meditations, we explain to participants why and how to express gratitude in a gratitude journal, we review the benefits of gratitude…we share with our guests how feeling deeply grateful for our first two exceptional horses has led to people offering us horses as gifts, horses that we would have loved to have but never thought we would be able to afford. We now have six of the most amazing horses, each different, each with his/her own way of helping our guests.
More information about our Connect with Horses workshops here: Equine Guided Growth Workshops.
Mailing List
Don’t miss our special promotions, exclusive offers and inspirational stories! If you can not get away right now, subscribe to our VIP mailing list for regular updates about additional workshops, early-bird special offers and last-minute deals. New subscribers receive a copy of the 10 Steps to Instant Self-Confidence guide -straight from the horse’s mouth! as well as the Coping with Change Cheatsheet and Checklist.
Dr Margaretha Montagu 