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Here are verified quotes of wisdom from **David Steindl-Rast**, the Austrian-American Benedictine monk and interfaith scholar known for his teachings on **gratitude**, **presence**, and **spiritual aliveness**:
1. **”It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy.”**
– From his TED Talk, *”Want to be happy? Be grateful.”* (2013)
This central idea has defined much of his teaching — that gratitude is the wellspring of joy, not the other way around.
2. **”The root of joy is gratefulness… It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”**
– From *Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness* (1984)
A classic expression of his spiritual philosophy, linking prayer, awareness, and joy through the practice of thankfulness.
3. **”The greatest gift one can give is thanksgiving. In giving gifts, we give what we can spare, but in giving thanks, we give ourselves.”**
– Quoted in *Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body, and Soul* by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill (2001)
This emphasizes gratitude as a relational and transformative act — a form of deep connection.
4. **”Grateful living is a way of life which asks us to notice all that is already present and abundant — from the tiniest things of beauty to the grandest of our blessings — and in so doing, to take nothing for granted.”**
– From *A Network for Grateful Living* (gratefulness.org)
He often teaches that gratefulness begins with awareness, and requires slowing down enough to see the gifts around us.
5. **”This moment — this moment is the most important moment of your life. Because it’s the only one you have.”**
– Interview with *On Being* with Krista Tippett (2016)
A reminder to anchor ourselves in presence — the now — as the true ground of being and transformation.
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