David Steindl-Rast Quotes

True gratefulness is courage to give thanks for a gift before unwrapping it.

Whatever life gives to you, you can respond with joy. Joy is the happiness that does not depend on what happens. It is the grateful response to the opportunity that life offers you at this moment

In moments of surprise we catch at least a glimpse of the joy to which gratefulness opens the door.

Can you be grateful for everything? No. But in every moment.

Volite cijelim srcem,
Budite iznenađeni,
Zahvaljujte se i hvalite -
Tad ćete otkriti
Ispunjenost svog života.

Meaning springs from belonging.

Try pausing right before and right after undertaking a new action, even something simple like putting a key in a lock to open a door. Such pauses take a brief moment, yet they have the effect of decompressing time and centering you.

People who have faith in life are like swimmers who entrust themselves to a rushing river. They neither abandon themselves to its current nor try to resist it. Rather, they adjust their every movement to the watercourse, use it with purpose and skill, and enjoy the adventure.

Times that challenge us physically, emotionally, and spiritually may make it almost impossible for us to feel grateful. Yet, we can decide to live gratefully, courageously open to life in all its fullness. By living in a gratefulness that we don’t feel, we begin to feel the gratefulness we live.