Spiritual Uplifting Quotes and Poems
“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 (1875 – 1965)
German theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician.
“Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
German writer, poet, novelist, playwright, natural philosopher, and diplomat.
“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
Famous American author, essayist, poet, and philosopher.
“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”
~Gladys Bronwyn Stern (1890 – 1973)
A writer who wrote many novels, short stories, plays, memoirs, biographies and literary criticism.
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?”
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
~William A. Ward (1921 – 1994)
“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.”
~Christiane Northrup
Dr. Northrup is the author of The Secret Wisdom of Menopause and a leading proponent of medicine and healing.
“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
~Margaret Cousins (1905 – 1996)
Writer and editor of books and magazines.
“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 (1944 – )
A self-help author and the Chairman of Brian Tracy International.
“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
~Eric Hoffer (1902 – 1983)
American social writer and philosopher.
“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.”
~Buddha
“Let’s be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom.”
~Marcel Proust (1871 – 1922)
French novelist, essayist and critic.
“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
~Unknown
“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
~Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719)
English essayist, poet and politician.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~Melody Beattie
Author of Codependent No More
“Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”
~Author Unknown
“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
Prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism.
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
~Epictetus (ca. 55–ca. 135)
Was a Greek Stoic philosopher.
“There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.”
~Ralph H. Blum
American New Age author of several books dealing with runes, including The Book of Runes, The Healing Runes, and The Rune Cards.
“Every time we remember to say “thank you”, we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.”
“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
~Sarah Ban Breathnach
Author of Simple Abundance
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words,
but to live by them.”
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963)
Was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.”
~Johannes A. Gaertner (1912 – 1996)
German born professor, language tutor, bookseller, and writer.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
~Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC)
Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist.
“Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life.”
~A. J. Cronin (1896 – 1981)
Scottish novelist, dramatist and writer of non-fiction who was one of the most renowned storytellers of the twentieth century.
“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~Henry Ward Beecher (1813 – 1887)
A prominent, Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker.
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.
Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.
Thankfulness may consist merely of words.
Gratitude is shown in acts.”
~David Oman McKay (1873 – 1970)
Ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
~Meister Eckhardt (c. 1260–c. 1328)
Eckhart von Hochheim was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic.
Today I Can…
by Anonymous
I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.
I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.
Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.
Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.
Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.
Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or
I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.
Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.
Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.
Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.
Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and
fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.
Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.
Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!
Have a GREAT DAY! Unless you have other plans.
Be Thankful For…
by Author Unknown
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.
GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
A Prayer
by Max Ehrmann
Let me do my work each day;
And if the darkened hours of despair overcome me,
May I not forget the strength that comforted me
In the desolation of other times.
May I still remember the bright hours that found me
Walking over the silent hills of my childhood,
Or dreaming on the margin of the quiet river,
When a light glowed within me,
And I promised my early God to have courage
Amid the tempests of the changing years.
Spare me from bitterness
And from the sharp passions of unguarded moments.
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit.
Though the world may know me not,
May my thoughts and actions be such
As shall keep me friendly with myself.
Lift my eyes from the earth,
And let me not forget the uses of the stars.
Forbid that I should judge others,
Lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of the world,
But walk calmly in my path.
Give me a few good friends who will love me for what I am;
And keep ever burning before my vagrant steps
The kindly light of hope.
And though age and infirmity overtake me,
And I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams,
Teach me still to be thankful for life,
And for times olden memories that are good and sweet;
And may the evening’s twilight find me gentle still.
