Gratitude

It is December 1st. November is over. Thanksgiving is past. But I have so much more I am thankful for. What's more, I know that the saying "We do not give thanks because we are happy, we are happy because we give thanks." (Douglas Wood) is a true statement. I am now beginning the month of December which is one of my favorite and one of my most stressful times of year. I love it, but it often overwhelms me. But I am beginning December feeling very calm and peaceful and happy. I know that giving thanks daily has been part of what has helped me feel that way. And I want this feeling to continue. So I'm going to continue to give thanks throughout December.

And today, I am thankful for quotes about gratitude. They help me remember how important giving thanks is. Here are a few I like:

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.
We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues" (Thomas S. Monson, "An Attitude of Gratitude," Ensign, May 1992, 54).

"The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us." --James E. Faust

A quote from a favorite book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which I read with my children this month: "The woman cursed herself for her selfishness and foolishness. How lucky she had been! She was at last able to see that her daughter's laughter and love could not be improved by having the finest clothes or jewels, that joy had been in her home like a gift waiting to be opened. The woman wept tears for which there was no comfort. For all the time that she had been longing for treasures, she had already had the one most precious." p. 254

"To express gratitude is honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven." -President Monson

"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
― Maya Angelou

“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”
― Neal A. Maxwell

And this hymn has been echoing in my mind for days, "Because I have been given much, I, too, must give. Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live. I shall divide my gifts from thee, with every brother that I see. Thus shall my thanks be thanks, indeed." (Hymn 219)