When the smell of celery, carrots, and onions—the makings of the Thanksgiving stuffing—first wafts through the air, your nose isn’t the only thing that gets a tickle. The simple scent causes a surge of nostalgia. A rush of memories of years past.
Sometimes these memories make our heart swell; other times, they produce a longing or even a feeling of dread. Good or bad, this is what the holidays are all about, Thanksgiving in particular. It’s a universally emotional time of reflection, one in which we’re tasked with digging deep to focus on our blessings and gratitude.
As any writer knows, finding the perfect words can be a challenge—even if you know exactly what you want to say. But the right Thanksgiving quotes can help. Take this one from Oprah, to start: “Focusing on one thing that you are grateful for increases the energy of gratitude and rises the joy inside yourself.”
For more fodder for your own mealtime toast, browse through this catalog of 80 inspiring (occasionally funny, sometimes short and sweet) Thanksgiving quotes, blessings, and sayings. They’ll all remind everyone at your table that there’s so much more to the holiday than football, turkey, and all the fixins’. The true meaning is gratitude. (For fun, there’s even a few short quips perfect for the Instagram caption to accompany the pic of your feast.)
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
1
Oprah
In her 2009 “What I Know for Sure” column for O magazine’s December issue, Oprah said about the subject of giving: “The best gift anyone can give, I believe, is the gift of sharing themselves.”
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
2
John Ortberg
“Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation,” the evangelical Christian author wrote in his book When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
3
Oprah Winfrey
“Focusing on one thing that you are grateful for increases the energy of gratitude and rises the joy inside yourself,” Winfrey said on Oprah's Life Class in 2011.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
4
Norman Vincent Peale
“A basic law: the more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for,” the American minister said in his 1970 book, Norman Vincent Peale's Treasury of Courage and Confidence.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
5
William Shakespeare
“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast,” Shakespeare wrote in The Comedy of Errors.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
6
Willie Nelson
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around,” the singer and songwriter wrote in The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
7
Richelle E. Goodrich
“Gratitude paints little smiley faces on everything it touches,” the author wrote in her book Smile Anyway.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
8
Steve Maraboli
“Be consistent in your dedication to showing your gratitude to others. Gratitude is a fuel, a medicine, and spiritual and emotional nourishment,” the motivational speaker wrote in his book Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
9
Eckhart Tolle
“Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance,” the spiritual teacher wrote on Twitter.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
10
Thomas Goodwin
“The most thankful person is the most fully human,” the theologian and preacher wrote in his book What Happens When I Pray.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
11
President Abraham Lincoln
In his October 1863 Proclamation of Thanksgiving, the president said: “I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens...to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
12
Jefferson Bethke
“Thankfulness is the quickest path to joy,” the author wrote in his book Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
13
Oscar Wilde
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations,” the Irish playwright wrote in A Woman of No Importance.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
14
Deepak Chopra
“Gratitude opens the door to...the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude,” Chopra said in a 2012 episode of Oprah's Lifeclass.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
15
President John F. Kennedy
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them,” the former president of the United States said during his 1963 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
16
Mark Nepo
“Doing small things with love is the atom of bravery,” poet Mark Nepo said in a 2014 piece for the Huffington Post.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
17
Oprah
“That’s the gift of gratitude: In order to feel it, your ego has to take a backseat,” Oprah wrote in the December 2013 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
18
Joanna Gaines
“Even in the trials of life, if we have eyes to see them, we can find good things everywhere we look,” the cohost of Fixer Upper wrote on her blog Magnolia.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
19
Jonathan Safran Foer
“Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others. All of them, from Martin Luther King Day to Arbor Day to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, are in one way or another about being thankful,” the American novelist wrote in his 2010 book Eating Animals.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
20
David O. McKay
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts,” the author wrote in his 1957 book Pathways to Happiness.
