Thanksgiving gratitude

When I was really ill I started to keep a gratitude journal, motivated by some of the books I read on "how to be sick," or rather, "how to turn your mind to being well while you are sick." Some days it was hard to scrape five items together (my bare minimum), but other days, even in the worst pain, the gratitude would just tumble out of me. I would write in the journal every night before sleep, and it set a positive tone for the resting hours. I still write in the journal, and now Aden and William each keep a gratitude journal of their own. Gratitude is a powerful force for action, for healing, for rest, and to kick off Thanksgiving week I've collected a few quotes on gratitude that inspire me. Thank you to all of the people that support and inspire me, as well; I'm grateful for you!!

- 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 
- He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." - Epictetus
- from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201111/the-seven-best-gratitude-quotes

“Sometimes life knocks you on your ass... get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.” 
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” 
― Meister Eckhart

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

― Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” 
― William Arthur Ward

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
[Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1963]” 
― John F. Kennedy

from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/gratitude