One single gift acknowledged in gratefulness has the power to dissolve the ties of our alienation.
David Steindl-RastRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Gratefulness leads to true happiness by appreciating what we have rather than focusing on what we lack.
This quote emphasizes the importance of gratitude in achieving happiness. It suggests that no matter how much we possess materially or how many opportunities we encounter, without a sense of gratefulness, we will always feel unfulfilled and desire more. The essence of a happy life lies in recognizing and appreciating the blessings we already have.
Themes
GratefulnessHappinessAppreciationLifeContentment
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a motivational speech on personal happiness.
More from David Steindl-Rast
All quotes →There is no closer bond than the one that gratefulness celebrates, the bond between giver and thanksgiver. Everything is a gift. Grateful living is a celebration of the universal give-and-take of life, a limitless yes to belonging. Can our world survive without gratefulness? Whatever the answer, one thing is certain: to say an unconditional yes to the mutual belonging of all beings will make this a more joyful world. This is the reason why Yes is my favorite synonym for God.
David Steindl-RastRead
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 spiraling ascent, a process of growth in ever expanding circles around a steady center.
David Steindl-RastRead
Joy is that kind of happiness that does not depend on what happens.
David Steindl-RastRead
By looking up, by raising our eyes above our limited horizon, we are more likely to perceive the blessings hidden in affliction.
David Steindl-RastRead
Any place is sacred ground, for it can become a place of encounter with the divine Presence.
David Steindl-RastRead
Similar quotes
Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable.
Leo RostenRead
There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.
Salvador DaliRead
I think everyone should go to bed like they have a date at the door.
Karl LagerfeldRead
Joy is a return to the deep harmony of body, mind, and spirit that was yours at birth and that can be yours again. That openness to love, that capacity for wholeness with the world around you, is still within you.
Deepak ChopraRead
Happiness is often presented as being very dull but, he thought, lying awake, that is because dull people are sometimes very happy and intelligent people can and do go around making themselves and everyone else miserable. He had never found happiness dull. It always seemed more exciting than any other thing and capable of as great intensity as sorrow to those people who were capable of having it.
Ernest HemingwayRead
Have the depth of faith to regard everything as a source for creating happiness and value.
Daisaku IkedaRead