Being joyful isn't what makes you grateful. Being grateful is what makes you joyful.
Ann VoskampRead
I know there is poor and hideous suffering, and I've seen the hungry and the guns that go to war. I have lived pain, and my life can tell: I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of gratitude amidst suffering and hardship.
Ann Voskamp's quote reflects on the duality of life, recognizing the existence of significant suffering and pain while also reminding us of the abundance of beauty and goodness that surrounds us. By practicing gratitude for simple pleasures, such as nature and life’s small joys, we can find a source of strength and healing, which counters the impact of the world's wounds.
Themes
GratitudeBeautySufferingThankfulnessNature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a speech about overcoming life's challenges with a positive mindset.
More from Ann Voskamp
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If trust must be earned, hasn't God unequivocally earned our trust with the bark on the raw wounds, the thorns pressed into the brow, your name on the cracked lips.
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When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?
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They say time is money, but that's not true. Time is life. And if I want the fullest life, I need to find fullest time... the busyness of your life leaving little room for the source of your life... God gives us time. And who has time for God? Which makes no sense.
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