23 Mindfulness Gratitude Quotes to Uplift and Inspire You

Mindfulness and gratitude are two powerful practices that can transform your life. Mindfulness is about being fully present in the moment without judgement, while gratitude involves recognizing and appreciating the good in your life. Whether you're an experienced practitioner or just getting started, quotes can be a useful tool for reflecting on and deepening your practice.

Below I've curated 23 of my favorite mindfulness gratitude quotes. I've personally verified the quotes are correct and properly attributed to ensure they are authentic as well as inspiring! I've also included links to the works they are from, so you can easily see the context they originally appeared in.

Quotes on the gift of the present moment

"Give yourself a gift: the present moment" Marcus Aurelius in Meditations: A New Translation translated by Gregory Hays, Random House Publishing Group, 2002

"The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it" Thich Nhat Hanh in Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Every Day Life, Random House Publishing Group, 1992.

"Be happy for a moment for THIS is life" Omar Khayyam in The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward Heron-Allen, 1898.

"Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is true prosperity" Eckhart Tolle in Practicing the power of now: Essential teachings, meditations, and exercises from the power of now. New World Library, 2010

“Be grateful you’re where you are at this moment. Don’t worry about trying to hurry the future along. Look for the joy in life now.” Melody Beattie in Gratitude: Inspirations by Melody Beattie, Hazelden Publishing, 2007

Quotes on transforming our perspective

"The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become. Gratitude gets you back into your life. It makes you be here and now." Robert Holden in Be Happy!: Release the Power of Happiness in You, Hay House, Inc., 2010.

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melodie Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, Hazelden, 1990,

"I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude." Brené  Brown in an interview with Gretchen Ruben published as "I Don't Have to Chase Extraordinary Moments to Find Happiness: It's Right in Front of Me," Psychology Today, 2011

“When you're present in gratitude, you can't be anywhere else" Jay Shetty in Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day, Simon and Schuster, 2020.

"One thing is certain, there is always a bright side, if we will only look for it" A. C. Crews in "Why Should We Render Thanks?", The Grain Growers' Guide, November 4th 1925.

"The mental attitude of gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the source from which the blessings come" W. D. Wattles in The Science of Getting Rich, Elizabeth Towne, 1910.

Quotes about everyday mindfulness and gratitude

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." Ralph Waldo Emerson in Society and Solitude: Twelve Chapters, Boston, Fields, Osgood & Co., 1870.

"Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue." John Muir in My First Summer in the Sierra, Boston and New York Houghton Mifflin Company, 1911

"But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir in Steep Trails, Boston and New York Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918

"Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion" Thich Nhat Hanh in Present Moment Wonderful Moment (Revised Edition): Mindful Verses for for Daily Living, Parallax Press, 2022

"When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1988

"We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude" Cynthia Ozick in "The Riddle of the Ordinary" in Art and Ardor, Alfred A. Knopf New York, 1983

Quotes about living mindfully and gratefully

“It simply comes to this: that we should be grateful for life—grateful and happy for having been allowed to live.” The doctor from Gunnar Gunnarsson's Guest the One-Eyed translated by W. W. Worster, Alfred A. Knopf New York, 1922

"A key to living in appreciation involves being knowingly present and mindfully grateful of our experience in the current moment" David C Borchard in The Joy of Retirement: Finding Happiness, Freedom, and the Life You've Always Wanted, American Management Association, 2008.

“The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle” Tara Brach in Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha, Bantam Books, 2003.

"Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." Charles Dickens in Sketches by Boz, Chapman and Hall, 1854.

"He is a man of sense who does not grieve for what he has not, but rejoices in what he has" Epictetus in The Works of Epictetus translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Little, Brown and Company, 1866.

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment” Henry David Thoreau in On Man and Nature compiled by Arthur G. Volkman, Peter Pauper Press 1960

How to use these quotes

Here are four of my favorite ways to incorporate these quotes into your mindfulness gratitude practice:

1. Write them down and leave them around as reminders. Whenever you find a quote that resonates with you, write it down on a sticky note and place it somewhere you will see it regularly, for example on your bathroom mirror or by your computer. That way, you'll be reminded of the quote's wisdom throughout the day!
2. Use them as journal prompts. Journaling is a great way to practice both mindfulness and gratitude and an inspiring quote can help get you started! You can, for example, reflect on what the quote means to you, apply it to past experiences you've had, or rewrite it in your own words.
3. Use them in meditations. If there's a quote you're particularly drawn to, you can try incorporating it into your meditation practice. For example, you could start or end your meditation by reciting the quote, silently or out loud.
4. Use them to get creative. Doodling is a fun way to practice both mindfulness and gratitude! So try writing down your favorite quote and illustrating it with colorful doodles to see if it helps you connect with the message more deeply.

Final Thoughts

I hope the quotes I've shared above inspire you on your mindfulness gratitude journey. I encourage you to select a quote that resonates with you and incorporate it into your practice today. I'd love to hear which quote spoke to you the most and how you chose to engage with it!