For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
What I know for sure is that if you want success, you can’t make success your goal. The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant, and the success will naturally follow.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
Moderation is the key to lasting enjoyment.
—Hosea Ballou (1771–1852) American Theologian
It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given.
—Elisabeth Elliot (b.1926) American Christian Author, Speaker
Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.
—Buddhist Teaching
Try to live the life of the good man who is more than content with what is allocated to him.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
The correct prayer is never one of supplication but one of gratitude.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Thanks are justly due for boons unbought.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
The public have neither shame or gratitude.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
We can be thankful to a friend for a few acres, or a little money; and yet for the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, we look upon ourselves as under no obligation.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
If only every man would make proper use of his strength and do his utmost, he need never regret his limited ability.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Next to ingratitude, the most painful thing to bear is gratitude.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave, let him know he has enough.
—Walt Whitman (1819–92) American Poet, Essayist, Journalist, American, Poet, Essayist, Journalist
Greed’s worst point is its ingratitude.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
One ungrateful man does an injury to all who stand in need of aid.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
If there’s no bread, cakes are very good.
—Spanish Proverb
When befriended, remember it; when you befriend, forget it.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Gratitude, in most men, is only a strong and secret hope of greater favors.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
I have the greatest of all riches: that of not desiring them.
—Eleonora Duse (1859–1924) Italian Actress
Were a man to order his life by the rules of true reason, a frugal substance joined to a contented mind is for him great riches.
—Lucretius (c.99–55 BCE) Roman Epicurean Poet, Philosopher
Let him who has enough wish for nothing more.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
The greedy man is incontinent with a whole world set before him.
—Sa’Di (Musharrif Od-Din Muslih Od-Din) (c.1213–91) Persian Poet
For if there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Gratitude is a debt which usually goes on accumulating like blackmail; the more you pay, the more is exacted. In time, you are made to realize that the kindness done you is become a curse and you wish it had not happened.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
I’m grateful for the opportunity to live on this beautiful and astonishing planet Earth. In the morning, I wake up with a sense of gratitude.
—Earl Nightingale (1921–89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
All fortune belongs to him who has a contented mind.
—The Panchatantra Indian Collection of Fables and Folktales
More than enough is too much.
—Unknown
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
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