Living in the Present Isn’t Always Easy—Here Are 50 Mindfulness Quotes To Help Make It Happen

Living in the now comes with a wide array of positive benefits. Mindfulness has been linked to everything from reduced anxiety to a better quality of sleep, improved digestion, and even enhanced brain function. As beneficial as mindfulness is, tuning in to your surroundings, surrendering to the moment, and embracing whatever thoughts pop up isn't always as easy as it sounds. It takes effort—but with continued practice (and these mindfulness quotes!), mindfulness can make a big difference in your day-to-day life.

While there are many ways to bring a greater sense of mindfulness into your life, reading quotes about mindfulness can help. Here are the best quotes on mindfulness to inspire you to live in the present.

Related: Thinking of You Quotes

50 Mindfulness Quotes

1. "Slow down, you'll get there faster." — Katherine King

2. “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn

3. “Forever is composed of nows.” — Emily Dickinson

4. “Paradise is not a place; it’s a state of consciousness.” — Sri Chinmoy

5. “Be happy in the moment. That is enough.” — Mother Teresa

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6. "Mindfulness clears the windshield of the mind so that we can see things as they really are." — Travis Eliot

7. "When you're feeling frazzled, put all of your attention on the breath. It's a portal into the present moment, the best remedy for stress." — Ellen Barrett

8. “When I’m hungry, I eat what I love. When I’m bored, I do something I love. When I’m lonely, I connect with someone I love. When I feel sad, I remember that I am loved.” — Michelle May

9. "Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn't more complicated that that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it." — Sylvia Boorstein

10. “In today’s rush, we all think too much–seek too much–want too much–and forget about the joy of just being.” — Eckhart Tolle

Related: 25 Simple Mindfulness Exercises You Can Do at Home or Work

11. “Worrying is stupid. It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain.” ― Wiz Khalifa

12. In our times, it is radical to choose to sit still and be silent, to resist an identity of busyness, ceaseless motion, and noise, and to reclaim our sanity and humanity by coming home to ourselves." — Sumi Loundon Kim

13. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu

14. "When you're quiet, everything settles on the floor of your mind like sediment in undisturbed still water." — Megan Monahan

15. “There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind—you are the one who hears it.” — Michael A. Singer

Related: Anxiety Quotes

16. “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it isn’t open.” — Frank Zappa

17. “Mindfulness is a simple practice, but not an easy one ... but you are worth doing hard things.” — Nicole Davis

18. “Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just have to remember to do it.” — Sharon Salzberg

19. "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes ... including you." — Anne Lamott

20. “Every time we ponder a thought, act on an impulse, or dwell on a desire, we are setting in motion a cause that will have a future effect. Mindfulness enables us to choose wisely.” — Tamara Levitt

Related: Inhale, Exhale and Repeat After Me! The Best Quotes About Life 

21. “Meditation means dissolving the invisible walls that unawareness has built” — Sadhguru

22. “As soon as we wish to be happier, we are no longer happy.” — Walter Landor

23.“When the pure basics—what we once referred to as common etiquette—are no longer recognized, it’s time for society to realize how crucial the small things are.” — Nita Patel

24. “Looking at beauty in the world is the first step of purifying the mind.” — Amit Ray

25. “Ask yourself: Where am I? Answer: Here. Ask yourself: What time is it? Answer: Now. Say it until you can hear it.” — Ram Dass

Related: Quotes About Change

26. "Life is an endurance sport, but endurance without compassion is torture. Living mindfully, we bring our whole heart to the event of being alive so that we can be present from beginning to end." — Lauren Eckstrom

27. "When we allow ourselves to embrace the moment, we allow ourselves to live.” — Lisa Bien

28. “Practicing a mindful moment in the middle of the day, helps to bring you back to center, reset, and move into the rest of your day with greater clarity and focus.” — Christine Agro

29. “Think about the practice of meditation as zoning in, as opposed to spacing out.” — Susie Levan

30. “Mindfulness is like taking your brain for a virtual walk. Like our bodies, our minds need time to recover after a difficult workout. It is a way to ‘walk’ it off—catch your breath, settle your muscles, and be fully present. Notice what you see, smell, feel, and hear. Be in the moment as you gain insight and nurture yourself. Even a few seconds or minutes is enough. Don't overthink—it isn't the formal practice of meditation … and you don't need sneakers.” — Lori Maney Lentini

Related: 75 Epictetus Quotes on Life, Philosophy and Empowerment

31. “All your power resides in the now. Mindfulness is the best tool to tap you into that power.” — Anita M. Scott 

32. “Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” — Louis L’Amour

33. “You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chodron

34. “Every morning we are born again. What we do today matters most.” — Buddha

Related: Buddha Quotes

35. “The feeling that any task is a nuisance will soon disappear if it’s done in mindfulness.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

Related: 105 Affirmations for Self-Love

36. “Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” — James Baraz

37. “Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choice. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom.” — Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

38. “Remember the blue sky. It may at times be obscured by clouds, but it is always there.” — Andy Puddicombe

39. Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be. — Sonia Ricotti

40. “Stepping out of the busyness, stopping our endless pursuit of getting somewhere else, is perhaps the most beautiful offering we can make to our spirit.” — Tara Brach

Related: 65 Plato Quotes on Life, Wisdom and Politics

41. "When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another—and ourselves." — Jack Kornfield

42. "Altogether, the idea of meditation is not to create states of ecstasy or absorption, but to experience being." — Ch?gyam Trungpa

43. "You cannot control the results, only your actions." — Allan Lokos

44. "A few simple tips for life: feet on the ground, head to the skies, heart open...quiet mind." — Rasheed Ogunlaru

45. "Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life." — Marcus Aurelius

Related: 105 Yoga Quotes to Inspire Inner Peace and Loving Your Body

46. "A mind set in its ways is wasted." — Eric Schmidt

47. "The mind is just like a muscle—the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand." — Idowu Koyenikan

48. "Training your mind to be in the present moment is the number one key to making healthier choices." — Susan Albers

49. "When you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat." — Shunryu Suzuki

50. "Don't think your practice is right or wrong. Simply bring your whole heart to your practice." — Michael Stone

Next, 105 Quotes About Self-Care