When children are small, they are natural practitioners of mindfulness.
They donโt need reminders to be in the moment and focus on the task at hand.
They donโt need mindfulness quotes for kids to teach them how to be.
Thatโs 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, theyโre only a few years away from the days when being present was all they did.
You wonโt 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. โIf you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.โ – Dalai Lama
2. โEverything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.โ – Robin S. Sharma
3. โHow you look at it is pretty much how youโll see it.โ – Rasheed Ogunlaru
4. โWhen you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat.โ – Shunryu Suzuki
5. โStep outside for a while โ calm your mind. It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall continually.โ – Rasheed Ogunlaru
6. โLooking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.โ – Amit Ray
7. โThe best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.โ – Jon Kabat-Zinn
8. โRejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.โ – Pema Chรถdrรถn
9. โWe have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.โ – Jack Kornfield
10. โIf you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.โ – Amit Ray
11. โLive the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.โ – Thรญch Nhแบฅt Hแบกnh
12. โBe kind whenever possible. It is always possible.โ – Dalai Lama
13. โRespond; donโt react. Listen; donโt talk. Think; donโt assume.โ – Raji Lukkoor
14. โYou cannot control the results, only your actions.โ – Allan Lokos
15. โThere is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.โ – Tara Brach
16. โDonโt let life harden your heart. – Pema Chรถdrรถn
17. โIf 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.โ – Rabbi Harold Kushner
18. “Love cannot be shared, it multiplies” – Agnes Ledig
19. “I donโt love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.” – Natalie Portman
20. โNothing is particularly hard if you break it down into small jobs.โ – Henry Ford
21. โIt always seems impossible until it is done.โ – Nelson Mandela
22. โYou cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have.โ – Jim Rohn
23. “Donโt 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, thatโs when you start to shine.” – Bethenny Frankel
25. “The destination isnโt 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. โTry not. Do or do not, there is no try.โ โ 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 masterโgardener of his soul, the director of his life.” – James Allen
38. “The willingness to accept responsibility for oneโs 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 itโs 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. โYou control your destiny โ you donโt need magic to do it. And there are no magical shortcuts to solving your problems.โ – Merida, Brave
42. โDonโt believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that โ thoughts.โ – Allan Lokos
43. โWhat would it be like if I could accept life โ accept this moment โ exactly as it is?โ – Tara Brach
44. โThereโs only one reason why youโre not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and itโs because youโre thinking or focusing on what you donโt haveโฆ. But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.โ ~Anthony de Mello
45. โThe basic root of happiness lies in our minds; outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favorable.โ ~Matthieu Ricard
46. โHappiness is a state of mind. Itโs just according to the way you look at things.โ โ Walt Disney
47. โMindfulness isnโt difficult, we just need to remember to do it.โ ~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 โahaโ moment? Sit with that for a minute and be present.