"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."
Cicero
GratitudeVirtue
Thankful Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · THANKFUL
Thankful Quotes
Count your blessings with 200 thankful quotes from Cicero, Swami Vivekananda, Thiruvalluvar, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou and G. K. Chesterton.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more."
Melody Beattie
GratitudeContentment
"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."
Meister Eckhart
ThankfulnessSimplicity
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
William Arthur Ward
Expressing ThanksGratitude
"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."
Jean Baptiste Massieu
GratitudeHeart
"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."Epictetus
WisdomContentment
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
Oprah Winfrey
AbundanceMindset
"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
Marcel Proust
GratitudeFriendship
"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul."
Henry Ward Beecher
GratitudeSoul
"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance."
Eckhart Tolle
AbundanceAppreciation
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
Robert Brault
Little ThingsAppreciation
"Silent gratitude isn't very much to anyone."
Gertrude Stein
Expressing ThanksHonesty
"Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind."
Lionel Hampton
GratitudeMemory
"The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness."Dalai Lama
GoodnessAppreciation
"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Melody Beattie
PeacePerspective
"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."
G. K. Chesterton
HappinessWonder
"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."
Willie Nelson
BlessingsTransformation
"No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks."
Saint Ambrose
DutyThankfulness
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
Charles Dickens
BlessingsPerspective
"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude."
Karl Barth
JoyGratitude
"Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."
Aesop
NobilityCharacter
"It is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."
David Steindl-Rast
HappinessGratefulness
"This is a wonderful day. I've never seen this one before."Maya Angelou
Each DayAppreciation
"Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses."
Alphonse Karr
PerspectiveOptimism
"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."
Brian Tracy
AttitudeGrowth
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About Thankful Quotes
# Thankful Quotes
Gratitude is one of the simplest and most powerful habits we can build. Being thankful doesn't mean life is perfect; it means noticing the good that is already here: the people who love us, the lessons we've learned, a quiet morning, a kind word. Thinkers across every culture and century have agreed that a grateful heart is a happy heart.
This collection brings together 200 of the best thankful quotes from philosophers, poets, spiritual teachers and everyday heroes, including Cicero, Thiruvalluvar, Swami Vivekananda, Marcus Aurelius, Helen Keller, Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey. Use them for thank-you notes, gratitude journals, captions, cards, or simply as a daily reminder to count your blessings.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Thankful quotes.
What is the most famous quote about being thankful?
One of the most famous is Cicero's "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." Other well-loved lines include Meister Eckhart's "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough," and Melody Beattie's "Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more."
What does the Thirukkural say about gratitude?
Thiruvalluvar devoted a whole chapter of the Thirukkural (Kurals 101–110) to gratitude. He wrote that "A favour done in the hour of need, though small in itself, is much larger than the world," that "Even a millet-seed of help, to those who know its worth, is as large as a palm tree," and that one may escape every other wrong, but never the sin of killing gratitude.
What are some short thankful quotes?
Popular short options include "Gratitude is the memory of the heart" (Jean Baptiste Massieu), "Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty" (Doris Day), "The root of joy is gratefulness" (David Steindl-Rast), "Show gratitude" (Randy Pausch), and "Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day" (Alice Morse Earle).
What is the difference between gratitude and thankfulness?
Henry Van Dyke explained it beautifully: "Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling." Henri-Frédéric Amiel added that "Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts."
What are good thank-you quotes for friends and family?
Try Marcel Proust's "Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom," Emerson's "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new," or Shakespeare's "I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks."
How can I use thankful quotes?
Thankful quotes are perfect for thank-you cards, gratitude journals, morning affirmations, social media captions, teacher and parent appreciation notes, office recognition messages, and World Gratitude Day posts (September 21). Try writing one quote and three things you're grateful for each day.