Greatest Gifts Quotes & Sayings

If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power, and beauty that nature can bestow - in some parts a very paradise on earth - I should point to India. If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most full developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of some of them which well deserve the attention even of those who have studied Plato and Kant - I should point to India. And if I were to ask myself from what literature we, here in Europe, we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans, and of one Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw that corrective which is most wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect, more comprehensive, more universal, in fact more truly human, a life, not for this life only, but a transfigured and eternal life - again I should point to India. — Friedrich Max Muller

You are to do the choosing here and now during this exciting and wonderful time on earth. Moral agency, the freedom to choose, is certainly one of God's greatest gifts next to life itself. We have the honorable right to choose; therefore, we need to choose the right. This is not always easy. — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

You deserve a man who makes you feel butterflies. Love isn't safe. Love is crazy and scary and unpredictable. You can't control it and you sure as hell can't fight it. It's one of life's greatest risks ... but it's also one of life's greatest gifts. — Karli Perrin

The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts
a child
as a competitor, an intrusion and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the dependent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. — Mother Teresa

Listening and acknowledging we are all different is the greatest gift to share with one another — Paul Isaacs

One of the greatest gifts to mankind is laughter, and one of the greatest gifts to laughter is Lucille Ball. God has her now but thanks to television, we'll have her forever. — Bob Hope

giving children something with which to surprise their parents is one of the greatest gifts a teacher can bestow. — Richard Dawkins

My relationship with my parents is among the greatest gifts of my life. — Christopher Castellani

If you love getting gifts - and who doesn't - then why not accept, with gratitude, the greatest gift there is: the present moment. — Guy Finley

One of the greatest gifts that God has given us is free will. Even though it's free, we don't take advantage of it as much as we could when it comes to matters of the heart. — Niecy Nash

I still believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that God gave to man. — George Michael

Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences. — Freeman Dyson

And in busy London there now grew up one of the greatest gifts that the English genius was to leave the world. For in the reign of Elizabeth I began the first and greatest flowering of the glorious English theatre. — Edward Rutherfurd

I think the greatest gifts we can give each other in a relationship are the gifts of kindness and communication. — Jane Green

The ability to earn a living by doing the thing one loves must be one of life's greatest gifts. — Jojo Moyes

Gift of life is the greatest of all gifts; — Mahatma Gandhi

Everyone knows how to smile. Its one of the greatest gifts God has given us. A smile makes people feel good, and people look so beautiful when they smile. — Joyce Meyer

Allow yourself to love him, Nicole. That's one of the greatest gifts a mother can give to her child, you know. To love her child's father. I firmly believe that once Gabe's heart heals, he'll discover that you and your child already have a place there. — Emily March

When our gifts are remembered and lived, we discard the idea that happiness requires an ideal life in which we are comparatively the best. Many beautiful and enjoyable things are messy and far from ideal. Some of the greatest cooks have the messiest of kitchens, and beautiful gardens are the result of sweat and dirt. As we move closer to our essence, we better understand that we can have a wonderful life in the absence of perfection. — Robert A. Giacalone

One of the greatest gifts of Black feminism to ourselves has been to make it a little easier simply to be Black and female. — Barbara Smith

Literacy is one of the greatest gifts a person could receive. — Jen Selinsky

One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of temperament. We make our temperament and our natural affinities barriers to coming to Jesus. The first thing we realize when we come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatever to our natural affinities. We have the notion that we can consecrate our gifts to God. You cannot consecrate what is not yours; there is only one thing you can consecrate to God, and that is your right to yourself (Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you. God's experiments always succeed — Oswald Chambers

If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India. — Max Muller

Now that the book is out in the world, I'm amazed all over again at what my friend did for me in prompting me to ditch realism for a more magical approach. In some ways, the Golem and the Jinni are the ultimate immigrants. They aren't just new to New York or America; they're new to people. Like those around them, they wrestle with issues of religion versus doubt and duty versus self-determination - but as inescapable aspects of their own otherworldly natures. For seven years I've lived with their questions, arguments, and adventures, and it's been one of the greatest gifts of my life. — Helene Wecker

In America we have the greatest chance for opportunity than anyone else in the past six and a half thousand years. Never in recorded history have so many different gifts from all over the world been deposited in one country. — Jim Rohn

My native gifts are not remarkable, but I have a certain force of character which has enabled me in a measure to supplement my deficiencies. I have common-sense. Most people cannot see anything, but I can see what is in the front of my nose with extreme clearness; the greatest writers can see through a brick wall. My vision is not so penetrating. For many years I have been described as a cynic; I told the truth. I wish no one to take me for other than I am, and on the other hand I see no need to accept others' pretences. — W. Somerset Maugham

One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention — Jim Rohn

One of the greatest gifts to give our friends and others is a prayer. — Ellen J. Barrier

Dreaming is one of humanity's greatest gifts - it champions aspiration, spurs innovation, leads to change, and propels the world forward. — Richard Branson

It is in the quiet crucible of your personal, private sufferings that your noblest dreams are born and God's greatest gifts are given. — Wintley Phipps

One of the greatest gifts adults can give - to their offspring and to their society - is to read to children. — Carl Sagan

Father, I have much to be grateful for tonight and I thank you. I have much to regret and I ask your forgiveness. But even as I ask your forgiveness, I know that I receive it, and a deep peace fills my heart. Help me to sleep well tonight and to wake early ready for that daily yet greatest of gifts, a fresh start. — Avery Brooks

One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer. — Caroline Kennedy

Friendship is one of the greatest gifts a human being can receive. It is a bond beyond common goals, common interests, or common histories. It is a bond stronger than sexual union can create, deeper than a shared fate can solidify, and even more intimate than the bonds of marriage or community. Friendship is being with the other in joy and sorrow, even when we cannot increase the joy or decrease the sorrow. It is a unity of souls that gives nobility and sincerity to love. Friendship makes all of life shine brightly. — Henri Nouwen

God offered the greatest and most wonderful gift freely, while we were still sinners. It is a gift for any and every one, no matter how broken, how far, or how dark. He didn't require us to change before we came, but offered a way out while we were at our worst. — Sarah Holman

The greatest gift you can give (yourself or anyone else) is just being present — Rasheed Ogunlaru

Having children is my greatest achievement. It was my saviour. It switched my focus from the outside to the inside. My children are gifts, they remind me of what's important. — Elle Macpherson

The child is the beauty of God present in the world, that greatest gift to a family — Mother Teresa

School did give me one of the greatest gifts of my life, though. I learned how to read, and for that I remain thankful. I would have died otherwise. As soon as I was able, I read, alone. Under the covers with a flashlight or in my corner of the attic - I sought solace in books. It was from books that I started to get an inkling of the kinds of assholes I was dealing with. I found allies too, in books, characters my age who were going through or had triumphed against the same bullshit. — Craig Ferguson

Nanabozho also had the task to learn how to live from his elder brothers and sisters. When he needed food, he noticed what the animals were eating and copied them. Heron taught him to gather wild rice. One night by the creek, he saw a little ring-tailed animal carefully washing his food with delicate hands. He thought, "Ahh, I am supposed to put only clean food in my body."
Nanabozho was counseled by many plants too, who shared gifts, and learned to treat them always with the greatest respect. After all, plants were here first on the earth and have had a long time to figure things out. Together, all the beings, both plants and animals, taught him what he needed to know. The Creator had told him it would be this way. — Robin Wall Kimmerer

Out of my greatest dispair, was to come my greatest gift. — Rhonda Byrne

Suzanne was kind of slutty, and it was good for every hot woman to have a slutty best friend because being able to judge your friends is one of the greatest gifts of friendship. — Alexandra Brenton

He wanted to be loved for being just what he was. In this community of Yskalnari there was harmony, but no love.
He no longer wanted to be the greatest, strongest or cleverest. He had left all that far behind. He longed to be loved just as he was, good or bad, handsome or ugly, clever or stupid, with all his faults - or possibly because of them.
But what was he actually?
He no longer knew. So much have been given to him in Fantastica, and now, among all these gifts and powers, he could no longer find himself. — Michael Ende

Education happens to be something that all people, all cultures, need to embrace. Math, science, the words of the world. To be able to speak and be able to have clarity and to be able to think. Those are the greatest of gifts. — Bill Cosby

Tragedies can contain some of life's greatest rewards and valuable lessons. Struggle makes you stronger. Pain makes you alert. Clouds bring forth the rain. As a wise man once said, 'You seek problems because you need their gifts.' Why would you rob someone of these benefits? — Brownell Landrum

It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. — Maya Angelou

The greatest joy is in giving; after all, God gave Christ for us. — Ashley Ormon

God's purpose in creation was to let us prove ourselves. The plan was explained to us in the spirit world before we were born. We were valiant enough there to qualify for the opportunity to choose against temptation here to prepare for eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God. — Henry B. Eyring

So, creatively, I was doubly blessed: constant relocation and parental disharmony. Add to these two gifts the well-established fact that many of the world's greatest geniuses, both artistic and scientific, have been the product of serious maternal deprivation, and I am forced to the conclusion that if only my mother had been just a little more emotionally inadequate, I could have been HUGE. — John Cleese

Shakespeare in the Park is one of the greatest gifts in New York City. You just have to wait for the tickets - and it's worth the wait. — Jesse L. Martin

I have learned ... adversity can be one of the greatest gifts of all. — Robert Kiyosaki

Life is pointless ... and that is God's greatest gift. — Neale Donald Walsch

The older I get, the more I seem to be able to appreciate my "neighbor" (whomever I happen to be with at the moment). Oh, sure, I've always tried to love my neighbor as myself; however, the more experiences I've had, the more chances I've had to see the uniqueness of each person... as well as each tree, and plant, and shell, and cloud... the more I find myself delighting every day in the lavish gifts of God, whom I've come to believe is the greatest appreciator of all. — Fred Rogers

The greatest gift one can give is thanksgiving. In giving gifts, we give what we can spare, but in giving thanks we give ourselves. — David Steindl-Rast

Friendship freely given and gratefully received is one of life's greatest gifts. — Napoleon Hill

Sum all the gifts that man is endowed with, and we give our greatest share of admiration to his energy. And today, if I were a heathen, I would rear a statue to Energy and fall down and worship it! — Mark Twain

Eternal life is the most important thing in all the world for which you and I should work and hope someday to attain ... the person who attains eternal life is exceedingly rich. Seek not for riches but for wisdom ... he that hath eternal life is rich. Eternal life is the greatest of all of the gifts of God. — Milton R. Hunter

One of a mother's greatest gifts is to teach her child that to grow is not to timidly sit on some safe shore at water's edge and clumsily grab whatever happens to float by. Rather, it is to deliberately step into waters both calm and turbulent in order to wrestle great things to shore. And that lesson can be best taught by a mother who stands before her child dripping wet. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

The greatest dividends in life are those that we give away. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

Flame is not the only fire." Her tone turned almost stern. "You have brought your folk another spark far greater than any flame. You have opened their eyes to the world, Aljan, shown them lands and peoples formerly beyond their ken. You have whistled them out of their cramped, closed, inward-facing ring and led them into my Dance, the Great Circle and Cycle encompassing all. < ... > Nay, flame has not been the greatest of my gifts to you. Knowledge, Aljan, that even now remakes the world. Knowledge is the fire. — Meredith Ann Pierce

So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. — Tim Cook

The simple things in life are the greatest gifts. — Bryant McGill

Creativity is the greatest gift of human intelligence. — Ken Robinson

The worship of God is, Honouring his gifts in other men each according to his genius, and loving the greatest men best; those who envy or calumniate great men hate God, for there is no other God. — William Blake

Peace is one of the greatest gifts we can leave our children. — Jon Jones

Our lives, as short as they may be, are a test. And one of the biggest tests we can endure is how we respond to those moments when we don't feel the presence of God in our lives. I believe deeply that one of God's greatest gifts is to teach us there is a purpose behind every single one of our trials or problems.
Treat them as a gift, an opportunity to move forward and draw closer to God. Problems often times compel us to look to God and count on him, rather than ourselves. — Matt Patterson

One of the greatest gifts of life is having a chance to live as long as there are people on earth. — Kenneth De Guzman

One of the greatest gifts in this world is the ability to make others smile. - The Unauthorized Autobiography of Jonathan Fisher — J.E.B. Spredemann

Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love. This is something else I've discovered for myself very recently. I present it to you as a hypothesis: Intelligence without the ability to give and receive affection leads to mental and moral breakdown, to neurosis, and possibly even psychosis. And I say that the mind absorbed in and involved in itself as a self-centered end, to the exclusion of human relationships, can only lead to violence and pain. — Daniel Keyes

You know the greatest thing about working on 'Fallon?' I get so many anonymous gifts. — Questlove

Beginning with Santa Claus as a cognitive exercise, a child is encouraged to share the same idea of reality as his peers. Even if that reality is patently invented and ludicrous, belief is encouraged with gifts that support and promote the common cultural lies.
The greatest consensus in modern society is our traffic systems. The way a flood of strangers can interact, sharing a path, almost all of them traveling without incident. It only takes one dissenting driver to create anarchy. — Chuck Palahniuk

The greatest gifts of a New Year; it brings a new beginning, new blessings and new bliss. — Lailah Gifty Akita

In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God's greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love with the people in my life. — Anderson Cooper

One of the greatest gifts I've ever gotten is my daughter. — Ace Frehley

The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence. — Denis Waitley

Usually life's greatest gifts come wrapped in adversity. — Richard Paul Evans

The greatest gifts are those that say, "I know you". — Fennel Hudson

Evil's greatest triumph may be its success in portraying religion as an enemy of pleasure when, in fact, religion accounts for its source: every good and enjoyable thing is the invention of a Creator who lavished gifts on the world. — Philip Yancey

Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and understands that this process of climbing higher takes preparation, time, and commitment. He understands that we will make mistakes at times, that we will stumble, that we will become discouraged and perhaps even wish to give up and say to ourselves it is not worth the struggle. We know it is worth the effort, for the prize, which is eternal life, is "the greatest of all the gifts of God." And to qualify, we must take one step after another and keep going to gain the spiritual heights we aspire to reach. — Joseph B. Wirthlin

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. — Garth Brooks

Perhaps the greatest role of parenting, more than directing and telling children what to do, [is] helping [children] connect with their own gifts, particularly conscience. — Stephen Covey

What is the purpose of a city if not to grant the greatest of gifts, anonymity? — Rabih Alameddine

That's one of the great gifts of this, the greatest of all games, baseball: it allows you, still, to lose yourself in a dream, to feel and remember a season of life when summer never seemed to die and the assault of cynicism hadn't begun to batter optimism. — Mike Barnicle

To be needed and loved were the greatest gifts in life. It gave a sense of belonging that we all yearned for. Whether with our careers, families, or friends, we needed it. Mankind was not created for us to survive on our own. I believed we had been created to work together and thrive off of one another. — Alicia Rae

If God seems slow in responding, it is because He is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for His greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart. — Saint Augustine

One of the greatest gifts that 'Homeland' has given me is it's affirming on a daily basis. — Mandy Patinkin

I think one of my greatest gifts is leading worship. — Michael W. Smith

I think that's one of the greatest gifts you get if you're successful at something like music or film or photography - any of the arts - you can sit there and think. It's so much fun to sit there and think and wonder about the world and the universe. — Albert Hammond Jr.

One of the greatest gifts science has brought to the world is continuing elimination of the supernatural, and it was a lesson that my father passed on to me, that knowledge liberates mankind from superstition. We can live our lives without the constant fear that we have offended this or that deity who must be placated by incantation or sacrifice, or that we are at the mercy of devils or the Fates. With increasing knowledge, the intellectual darkness that surrounds us is illuminated and we learn more of the beauty and wonder of the natural world. — James D. Watson

Beginning and committing to a dream interpretation practice is one of the best gifts anyone can give themselves. This is truly the greatest guidance anyone could ask for. — Teresa DeCicco

My New Years Resolution is to find the calm in the chaos. Practicing yoga is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It's where you connect mind, body and spirit. — Donna Karan

It is simple. Men lose their birthrights for a mess of pottage only if they stop using the gifts given them by God for their betterment. By prayer. That is the first and greatest gift. use the gift of prayer. Ask for strength of mind, and a clear vision. Then sense. Use your sense. Not all of us are born for greatness, but all of us have sense. Make use of it. Think. Think long and well. By prayer and good thought you will conquer all enemies ... Behold, the night is coming. Prepare, for the time is at hand. — Richard Llewellyn

Be generous with your time and your resources and with giving credit and, especially, with your words. It's so much easier to be a critic than a celebrator. Always remember there is a human being on the other end of every exchange and behind every cultural artifact being critiqued. To understand and be understood, those are among life's greatest gifts, and every interaction is an opportunity to exchange them. — Maria Popova

The things we share with each other are deeply felt from within our hearts that neither of us will ever forget. For the gifts that are priceless are the ones that are heartfelt; their roots are within our soul. They are the greatest gifts, of all. — Ellen J. Barrier

Making someone feel visible is one of the greatest gifts you can give another human being, especially children, — D.E. Boyer

Freedom of religion is one of the greatest gifts of God to man, without distinction of race and color. He is the author and lord of conscience, and no power on earth has a right to stand between God and the conscience. — Philip Schaff

The greatest gifts my parents gave to me ... were their unconditional love and a set of values. — Colin Powell

To see is one of God's great gifts to man and to comprehend what we see is doubly so. Furthermore, He has endowed some people with the qualities to see the beauties of life and nature much more than others and they have the greatest gift of all. — Waite Phillips

One of the greatest gifts you can get as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family. — Pat Conroy

Teaching children the joy of honest labor is one of the greatest of all gifts you can bestow upon them. Let us also teach our children to see that the work assigned is carried to its completion and to take pride in what they accomplish. — L. Tom Perry