Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. Henry Van Dyke
“The more expectations you have, the less gratitude you will have. If you get what you expect, you will not be grateful for getting it.” Dennis Prager
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust
“I am thankful for all difficult people in my life, they have shown me exactly who I do not want to be. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Melody Beattie
“Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides. It means that you are willing to stop being such a jerk. When you are aware of all that has been given to you, in your lifetime and the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back.” Anne Lamott
“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” Randy Pausch
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”
“If you can’t be content with what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.”
“Happiness is not what makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast
Twelve years of research led to Brené Brown‘s own conclusion, echoing the above, that people who describe their lives as joyous are those who practice gratitude actively: