FIVE QUOTES OF THANKS
Last week, I shared five quotes focused on gratitude. If you missed the blog, Click Here. What can you do with quotes? How can you put them to use?
When I find meaningful quotes— something that speaks to me—I like to write one on a small card or a piece of paper and look at it multiple times for at least a week. It helps to fix the ideas in my head and often alters my perspective or understanding. I hope you give this approach a try.
Meanwhile, where will you get quotes to look at? The Internet is full of quotes. I've curated some for you. Today, I’ve chosen words about giving thanks. There are five quotes and I suggest you find your favorite and use it throughout this week. Let these words inspire you — focus you — inform you — redirect your thinking in a more positive direction.
#1: Just Say Thank You…
“Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. ‘Thank you’ expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” – Alice Walker
Alice Walker is best known as a novelist who, in 1982, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book The Color Purple. Her award made her the first Black woman to receive the honor. She is also known as a poet, essayist, and short story writer. And to top off her list of accomplishments, we note that for many decades she has actively worked on civil rights causes.
For me, the phrase “Thank you” moves me away from always thinking about myself to thinking about others. Showing appreciation for others with this simple phrase builds relationships and is an expression of kindness.
What does "Thank you" mean to you?
#2: Something to be Thankful For
“There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.” --– Unknown
As I wrote last week, I prefer to not rely on quotes that are anonymous. Why? To put it simply (and obviously), you don’t know who said it! I like knowing who provided the quote and the background of it. But sometimes a quote by Unknown is too perfect to ignore.
In the quote above, I like the repetition of the word “always.” It is powerful. It causes us to focus. So when you have a day when everything seems to go against you, recall this quote. Then you can start looking at what you can be thankful for — because:
There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.
#3: Finding Forgiveness
“True forgiveness is when you can say, 'Thank you for that experience.'” – Oprah Winfrey
I find that it's hard for me to wrap my mind around this quote from Oprah Winfrey. And yet I want to. Maybe on RosieCentral we’ll blog about the concept of forgiveness in 2023.
Why choose this quote? Maybe quotes we don’t fully understand belong in our set of inspirational quotes because they help inform our thinking as we move forward.
When Kendra and I worked with memoir writers, I was always in awe of their ability to truly forgive family members who had harmed them — physically and psychologically. There is much to be learned from the perspective of others.
I hope you will find substance to ponder in this Oprah Winfrey quote.
#4: Not Seen or Heard
“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard but must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
Probably every school child learns about Helen Keller, the disability rights advocate, author, first deaf and blind person to earn a college degree — from Ratcliffe. Her achievements — in spite of being blind and deaf brought about by an illness when she was just 19 months old — can inspire all of us.
Yes, we know this quote doesn't include the words "thank you." Because it is such a powerful expression of thanks, because it shows thanks when many would find nothing to give thanks for, I chose it for inclusion in this small set of quotes.
I hope you can appreciate the importance of not giving thanks for the visible but also for the invisible that one feels in the heart.
#5: Words from Piglet
"Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude." - A.A. Milne
My children all loved the A. A. Milne Winnie the Pooh books. By the last child, the books were torn and tattered. So it’s not surprising that I picked up on this quote. As with the previous quote, the words “thank you” are not included. But I hope you agree that sweet Piglet is a great way to conclude our two days of blog quotes on gratitude and giving thanks.
Be Thankful and Give Thanks
Each Saturday for the next 3 weeks, we're going to UNVEIL a special holiday gift box.
We hope you'll check in and check them out.
THE NEXT VIDEO UNVEILING WILL BE NOVEMBER 26
