Top 10 Gratitude Quotes...What's Yours?

My kids will tell you that for me gratitude is an antidote to cure all ills! In fact, when they were little, if they were grumpy or whiny or feeling down or even ill, I would sit down with them and ask them to give me "Five Gratefuls" and list for me what they were most grateful for. I have noticed in my kids and my patients too, that expressing gratitude creates an automatic lift to our spirits. In fact, it is hard to feel angry, or sad, or discouraged or even fearful when we are thinking about our many blessings!

It seems that many others have noticed the great benefit of gratitude as well and have commented on it over the years inspiring me to really expand my understanding of what it means to be grateful. So, at this very special time of year, as we gather together to give thanks for our many blessings and for our great nation, I'd like to share with you, my Top Ten Quotes on Gratitude.

#1 "Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul blossom." - Marcel Proust

#2  "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
#3 "Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. -Maya Angelou
#4 "Are we really grateful for the good already received? Than we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have and thus be fitted to receive more."  - Mary Baker Eddy
#5  "If the only prayer you said was 'thank you', that would be enough." - Meister Eckhart

#6 "Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude." - A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

#7 "Gratitude is riches, complaint is poverty." - Doris Day (original quote by Arthur Mann)

#8 Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation." - John Ortberg

#9 "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."  - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

#10 "Gratitude bestows reverence allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." - John Milton
Don't wait until Thanksgiving, meditate today on all that you are grateful for. Then, take a moment and comment about it here and you will expand your gratitude by sharing it with all of us!