When children are small, they are natural practitioners of mindfulness.
They don’t need reminders to be in the moment and focus on the task at hand.
They don’t need mindfulness quotes for kids to teach them how to be.
That’s how they live every day.
Life is a beautiful garden of wonder for children who see everything with fresh eyes.
As kids grow a bit older, the world steps in to dissuade them of the notion that right now is the only place to be.
They are instructed to focus on the future and correct the mistakes from the past.
The first whispers of anxiety and regret sweep through their developing minds.
How Do You Define Mindfulness for Kids
Children likely embrace the concept more easily than adults. After all, they’re only a few years away from the days when being present was all they did.
You won’t need to define mindfulness. You can let children define it for you. Ask them these questions:
- What are you doing when you feel the happiest and most focused?
- Do you worry or feel anxious when you are doing this? If not, why?
- How can you get this feeling back at other times?
Mindfulness is the contentment that comes from being deeply engaged right now.
47 Mindfulness Quotes for Kids to Spark Great Conversations
One of the most powerful skills you can teach children is how to return to that state of wonder and presence. Mindful quotes for your students or your own children can serve as micro-lessons to discuss with them.
Read each of these quotes with your child or students, and draw them out to talk about what each quote means to them.
1. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
2. “Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” – Robin S. Sharma
3. “How you look at it is pretty much how you’ll see it.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
4. “When you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat.” – Shunryu Suzuki
5. “Step outside for a while – calm your mind. It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall continually.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
6. “Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.” – Amit Ray
7. “The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
8. “Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.” – Pema Chödrön
9. “We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.” – Jack Kornfield
10. “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” – Amit Ray
11. “Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh
12. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama
13. “Respond; don’t react. Listen; don’t talk. Think; don’t assume.” – Raji Lukkoor
14. “You cannot control the results, only your actions.” – Allan Lokos
15. “There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.” – Tara Brach
16. “Don’t let life harden your heart. – Pema Chödrön
17. “If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner
18. “Love cannot be shared, it multiplies” – Agnes Ledig
19. “I don’t love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.” – Natalie Portman
20. “Nothing is particularly hard if you break it down into small jobs.” – Henry Ford
21. “It always seems impossible until it is done.” – Nelson Mandela
22. “You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have.” – Jim Rohn
23. “Don’t let the noise of other opinions drown your own inner voice.” – Steve Jobs
24. “When you embrace your difference, your dna, your look or heritage or religion or your unusual name, that’s when you start to shine.” – Bethenny Frankel
25. “The destination isn’t in finding yourself. the destination is in the search.” – Thomas Warfield
26. “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss
27. “All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.” – Sally Ride
28. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
29. “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. i only try to dance better than myself.” – Arianna Huffington
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30. “The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.” – E.E. Cummings
31. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey
32. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle
33. “Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.” – Yoda
34. “The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself.” – Ursula K. LeGuin
35. “Numbing the pain for a while will only make it worse when you finally feel it.” – J.K. Rowling
36. “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
37. “A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master–gardener of his soul, the director of his life.” – James Allen
38. “The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.” – Joan Didion
39. “Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it’s addressed to someone else.” – Ivern Ball
40. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
41. “You control your destiny — you don’t need magic to do it. And there are no magical shortcuts to solving your problems.” – Merida, Brave
42. “Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.” – Allan Lokos
43. “What would it be like if I could accept life – accept this moment – exactly as it is?” – Tara Brach
44. “There’s only one reason why you’re not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it’s because you’re thinking or focusing on what you don’t have…. But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.” ~Anthony de Mello
45. “The basic root of happiness lies in our minds; outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favorable.” ~Matthieu Ricard
46. “Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.” – Walt Disney
47. “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” ~Sharon Salzberg
As adults, we can learn more than we expect from the young generation. What did you learn about yourself as you read through these mindful quotes for kids with your children?
What did you learn from your child or students that sparked an “aha” moment? Sit with that for a minute and be present.