In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. - David Steindl-Rast

The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.

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.

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more.