M. J. Ryan quotes:

Gratitude helps us to return to our natural state of joyfulness, where we notice what's right instead of what's wrong. It makes us feel complete, that we have everything we need, at least in this moment.

Take a deep breath and think of the three things you are grateful for, right in this moment.

Patience is no small, fell-good personal quality. It is at the heart of diplomacy and civility, lawfulness and civil order. Without it, people can't work together and society can't function at all. With it, we create the possibility of peace between people and between nations.

In every single moment, we have the choice to be happy or not. No matter what is going on, we can choose to focus on what is right, what is good and whole in ourselves and our lives, and what options we have in any given situation. In other words, we can choose to be happy no matter what.

Like so many other positive acts, it turns out that hugging boosts our immune system. Plus it just plain feels good! So hug someone today, perhaps a person who seems particularly in need.

Gratitude helps us love well by keeping us focused on the beauty in our relationship and the person we love.

Eating healthy and exercising won't help you if it's only temporary.

Spiritual leaders teach that waking up is a process, that it doesn't just happen once and for all, but must occur again and again when we realize we have forgotten the miracle of being alive, and in recognizing our forgetfulness, we wake to the miracle once again. In the moments we are awake to the wonder of simply being alive, gratitude flows, no matter our circumstances.

People teach what they most need to learn.

... the major rule in the American belief system - that anyone can do anything ... is a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters mediocrity. Knowing what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.

Gratitude is the antidote to bitterness and resentment.

Gratitude is the realization that we have everything we need, at least in this moment.

The choice is ours, in every moment.

We can't wait until everything is OK-with us or with the rest of the world-to feel thankful, or we will never experience joy at all.

Whenever we are appreciative, we are filled with a sense of well-being and swept up by the feeling of joy.

Wholeness invokes balance.

Gratitude is like a flashlight. It lights up what is already there. You don't necessarily have anything more or different, but suddenly you can actually see what it is. And because you can see, you no longer take it for granted.

I'm so happy that James Baraz's AWAKENING JOY class is now available in book form. His class has been helpful to thousands of people. I plan to give it to all my clients who are struggling with creating a life of meaning and happiness. Joyfulness is our birthright. This book shows you how to reclaim it.

At each level of gratitude our soul's capacity deepens, starting with contentment to meaningfulness, and finally, to pure joy.

Gratitude connects us to others and feeling gratitude allows us to be our best selves. When we are truly grateful, we can count on living the life we want

As any gardener will tell you, the cycles of nature require patience...Even a fast-growing vegetable like a radish requires time.

Gratitude is a feeling of fullness, a recognition of the heart of what we are receiving in this moment.

Gratitude makes us feel bursting with delight, just to remember the gifts we have received. Thus we are doubly blessed when we receive something: for the gift itself and later, in recall, for the miracle of having been given it.

Here's a practice for dealing with envy...each time you find yourself envious of someone...ask yourself, "What is there that I am noticing in the other person that I want to find in myself?"...If it's money, is it the freedom? The cance to play that money buys? A sense of security? Whatever it is-more play, a sense of security, free time-you can work on getting more of it in your life, no matter what the circumstances.

I got sick and tired of a joyless existence, and so have thought a lot in the past few years about how to bring more joy into my life. The more I think about it, the more I believe that joy and gratitude are inseparable. Joy is defined in the dictionary as an "emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires," while gratitude is that "state of being appreciative of benefits received." In other words, whenever we are appreciative, we are filled with a sense of well-being and swept up by the feeling of joy.

I learned that you don't have to be saddled for life with the mental attitudes you adopted in early childhood. All of us are free to change our minds, and as we change our minds, our experiences will also change.

In the moments we are awake to the wonder of simply being alive, gratitude flows, no matter our circumstances.

No matter what, I want to experience a sense of peace while talking. As I look out into the audience, Ill remember to breathe and notice that at my core there is peace.

We hold on so tightly that our hands are unavailable to reach out for the happiness we could gain by letting go.