--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is…" description: "\"Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder.\" — Thomas Merton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/thomas-merton-231_awakening_gratitude-takes-nothing-for-granted-is-n_1370786.jpg" --- # Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never… ![“Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/thomas-merton-231_awakening_gratitude-takes-nothing-for-granted-is-n_1370786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/thomas-merton-231_awakening_gratitude-takes-nothing-for-granted-is-n_1370786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/thomas-merton-231_awakening_gratitude-takes-nothing-for-granted-is-n_1370786.jpg) > “Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder.” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It describes gratitude as a constant, awakening awareness that prevents taking anything for granted and keeps one responsive to wonder. **In simple terms:** Gratitude keeps us aware and responsive. Key Takeaway Cultivate daily gratitude. Themes gratitude mindfulness wonder awareness Mood calm hopeful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - daily journaling - meditation - appreciating nature - relationships Key Concepts spirituality psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What daily practice nurtures your gratitude? - How does gratitude change your view of challenges? A Different Perspective Gratitude can be hard during hardship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Constantly Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constantly-awakening-4719556/) [Granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Gratitude Takes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude-takes-4719555/) [Hearsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearsay/) [New Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-wonder-3806431/) [Take nothing for granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-nothing-for-granted/) [Thank you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thank-you/) [Unresponsive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unresponsive/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [The grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-grateful-person-knows-that-god-is-good-not-by-hearsay-but-by/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s-love-every-moment-of/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love-of-god-in-everything/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love-of-god-in-everything-he-has-2/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Ah, in every age there is always some new wonder to astound mankind until they grow accustomed to it and lose interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/ah-in-every-age-there-is-always-some-new-wonder-to-astound-mankind/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/this-is-a-wonderful-time-to-be-living-here-on-earth-our-opportunities/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Gratitude takes less energy than anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/gratitude-takes-less-energy-than-anger/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Gratitude takes three forms: a feeling in the heart, an expression in words, and a giving in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wanamaker/gratitude-takes-three-forms-a-feeling-in-the-heart-an-expression-in/) [John Wanamaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wanamaker/) > [Back in the days when men were hunters and chest beaters and women spent their whole lives worrying about pregnancy or dying in childbirth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/back-in-the-days-when-men-were-hunters-and-chest-beaters-and-women/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Grieve not the Christ of God, who redeems us; and remember that we grieve Him most when we will not let Him pour His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/grieve-not-the-christ-of-god-who-redeems-us-and-remember-that-we/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/religious-institutions-that-use-government-power-in-support-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The government is unresponsive to the needs of the little man. Under 5' 7", it is impossible to get your congressman on the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/the-government-is-unresponsive-to-the-needs-of-the-little-man-under-5/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“People who feel imprisoned in a pen of alienation, in a world of misfits, clobbered by unresponsiveness and indifference, may find release by ring-fencing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/people-who-feel-imprisoned-in-a-pen-of-alienation-in-a-world-of/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [The citizens of Love Canal provided an example of how a blue-collar community with few resources can win against great odds (a multi-billion-dollar international…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-gibbs/the-citizens-of-love-canal-provided-an-example-of-how-a-blue-collar/) [Lois Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-gibbs/) > [To avoid taking responsibility, I become unresponsive but hang on until the other person leaves me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/to-avoid-taking-responsibility-i-become-unresponsive-but-hang-on/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. 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Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) [Sindiwe Magona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sindiwe-magona/) > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/when-i-was-20-years-old-i-got-cast-in-spring-awakening-and-got-swept/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [Motivation is awakening own mind and Inspiration is arising spirit in others to find their own with their heart and soul in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/motivation-is-awakening-own-mind-and-inspiration-is-arising-spirit-in/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. 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