How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons
"If the only prayer you say your
entire life is 'Thank you,' that would suffice."
- Meister Eckhart, 1305
"Feeling gratitude and not
expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
-
William A. Ward
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues,
but the parent of all others."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
"He is a wise man who does not
grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."
- Epictetus
"As we express our gratitude, we
must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to
live by them."
- John F. Kennedy
"Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your
feet."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
"Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a
neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring;
it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented."
– Sonja Lyubomirsky
"Acknowledging the good that you
already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance."
- Eckhart Tolle
"The only people with whom you
should try to get even with are those who have helped you."
- John E. Southard
"Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes
what is excellent in others belong to us as well."
- Voltaire
"In the end, though, maybe we must all give up
trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives.
In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human
generosity and to just keep saying
thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices."
- Elizabeth Gilbert
"Be mindful. Be grateful. Be
Positive. Be true. Be kind."
- Roy T. Bennett
"Opening your eyes to more of the world around
you can deeply enhance your gratitude practice."
- Derrick Carpenter
"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful
heart."
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will
discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude,
a feeling that nurtures the soul."
- Rabbi Harold Kushner
"At times, our own light goes out
and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think
with
deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
- Albert Schweitzer
"I would maintain that thanks are
the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."
- G. K. Chesterton
"When you are grateful, fear disappears and
abundance appears."
– Anthony Robbins
"Reflect upon your present
blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which
all men have some."
- Charles Dickens
"Gratitude turns what we have into
enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion
into clarity.
It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for
tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie
"No one who achieves success does
so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with
gratitude."
- Alfred North Whitehead
"Gratitude can transform common days into
thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities
into blessings."
- William Arthur Ward
"If having a soul means being able to feel love
and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."
- James Herriot
"Gratitude is the ability to experience life as
a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation."
- John Ortberg
"When I started counting my
blessings, my whole life turned around."
- Willie Nelson
"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we
receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that
life becomes rich."
- Deitrich Bonhoeffer
How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons
Hedonism
Epicureanism
Stoicism
Buddhism
Taoism
Yoga
Advice
Aging
Balance
Beauty
Bibliography
Body-Mind
Broad Minded
Cheerfulness Contemplation Conservation Dharmapada Sutra Equanimity
Fitness Five Senses Friendship Gardening Generosity Gratitude Happiness
Hospitality Learning Links Manliness Memory Mindfulness Moderation
Movement Open Minded Paramitas Patience Persistence Philosophy
Play Pleasures Self-Reliance Sensory Pleasures Simplicity Solitude
Somaesthetics Tao Te Ching Thinking Tolerance Tranquility Vigor Vision Willpower
Wonder Work Zen Precepts Enlightenment
"Cultivate the habit of being grateful for
every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because
all things
have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your
gratitude."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"We can only be said to be alive in those moments
when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."
- Thornton Wilder
"Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the
message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down,
the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up."
- Steve Maraboli
"Naikan reflection is based
on three questions:
What have I received from ________ ?
What have I given to ________ ?
What troubles or difficulties have I caused ________ ?"
- Gregg Krech
"Thankfulness is the beginning of
gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist
merely of words.
Gratitude is shown in acts."
- Henri Frederic Amiel
"When we replace a sense of service and
gratitude with a sense of entitlement and expectation, we quickly see the demise
of our relationships, society, and economy."
- Steve Maraboli
"Things turn out best for people
who make the best of the way things turn out."
- John Wooden
"Piglet noticed that even though
he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude."
- A.A. Milne
"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully,
everyone is blessed."
- Maya Angelou
"Got no checkbooks, got no banks. Still I'd
like to express my thanks - I've got the sun in the mornin' and the moon at
night."
- Irving Berlin
"Gratitude is riches. Complaint is
poverty."
- Doris Day
"Courtesies of a small and trivial character
are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart."
- Henry Clay
'An attitude of gratitude brings great things."
- Yogi Bhajan
"Start each day with a positive thought and a
grateful heart."
- Roy T. Bennett
"We can complain because rose bushes have
thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses."
- Alphonse Karr
"True happiness is to enjoy the present,
without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either
hopes
or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he
that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of
mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot,
whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not."
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"Everyone enjoys being acknowledged and
appreciated. Sometimes even the simplest act of gratitude can change someone's
entire day. Take the time to recognize and value the people around you and
appreciate those who make a difference in your lives."
- Roy T. Bennett
"Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the
Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead."
- C.S. Lewis
"A grateful mindset can set you free from the
prison of disempowerment and the shackles of misery."
- Steve Maraboli
Resources, Books, Links
The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology. By Gregg
Krech, Ph.D. ToDo Institute, 2014. 236 pages. ISBN:
978-0982427385.
Constructive Living. By David K. Reynolds, Ph.D. University of
Hawaii Press, 1984. 120 pages. ISBN: 978-0824808716.
How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons
Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection. By
Gregg Krech. Berkeley, CA, Stone Bridge Press, 2002.
Index, bibliography, 215 pages. ISBN:
9781880656631. VSCL.
Naikan Therapy A
way to cultivate awareness (self-reflection) of how the world (people, things,
environment, processes) support and sustain your life.
Paths to
Fitness and Well-Being
The Psychology of Gratitude. Edited by Robert A. Emmons and Michael E.
McCullough. From the Series in Affective Science. Oxford University
Press, 2004. 384 pages. ISBN: 978-0195150100.
How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons
Hedonism
Epicureanism
Stoicism
Buddhism
Taoism
Yoga
Advice
Balance
Beauty
Bibliography
Body-Mind
Broad Minded
Cheerfulness Contemplation Conservation Dharmapada Sutra Equanimity
Fitness Five Senses Friendship Gardening Generosity Gratitude Happiness
Hospitality Learning Links Manliness Memory Mindfulness Moderation
Movement Open Minded Paramitas Patience Persistence Philosophy
Play Pleasures Self-Reliance Sensory Pleasures Simplicity Solitude
Somaesthetics Thinking Tolerance Tranquility Vigor Vision Willpower
Wonder Work Zen Precepts Enlightenment
Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice
Stoicism and Hellenistic Philosophy
One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey
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The Good Life Website
Compiled by Mike Garofalo
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Last revised, modified, improved, reformatted, or updated on October 25, 2019.
First posted on the Internet on October 24, 2019.
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