Are there things on your mind right now? Are you stressed, dwelling on the past or thoughts? Would you like to find serenity and calm? Then here are 70 Zen quotes that have the power to soothe you.

Why Zen quotes?

To make the most of Zen quotes, I heartily invite you to write down your favorites on post-it notes and stick them all around you: bedside table, mirror, fridge, desk, even (and especially) in your diary.

What’s more, jot them down in a notebook that I invite you to read every morning and evening.

Because don’t underestimate the power of Zen quotes. They’ve changed my life, and I sincerely hope they’ll change yours.

My favorites are: 16, 20, 29, 37, 43, 47, 52 and 63. How about you?

Zen quotes to stop dwelling on the past

1 – “Don’t look back, that’s not where you’re going.”

2 – “When you can’t go back, you only have to worry about the best way forward. “

3 – “When the past calls, don’t listen to it, because it has nothing new to tell you.”

4 – “Don’t stay trapped in your past. It should serve as a lesson, not a prison.”

5 – “Don’t look back with anger or forward with fear, but around you with awareness.”

6 – “Don’t start the day with the broken pieces of the day before.”

7 – “Your pain yesterday is your strength today.”

To better cope with change :

8 – “Don’t be afraid of change, because it leads to a new beginning.”

9 – “Sometimes it’s very hard to move on, but once you do, you’ll realize it was the best decision of your whole life.”

10 – “When you hold on to nothing, you fly away.”

11 – “Not all storms come to ruin your life, some come to clear your path.”

12 – “Sometimes letting go is a more powerful act than fighting back or holding on.”

13 – “Sometimes our lives need to be turned upside down, changed and reorganized to put us back where we’re meant to be.”

14 – “All change is difficult in the beginning, complicated in the middle and beautiful in the end.”

15 – “There is nothing constant except change”

16 – “It takes serenity to accept the things you can’t change, courage to change the things you can, and wisdom to distinguish one from the other.”

Zen quotes for slowing down :

17 – “The best in life can’t be planned, it just happens.”

18 – “Don’t hurry, don’t torture your mind, you’re only here for a short visit. Don’t forget to stop and breathe in the flowers.”

19 – “Respect your body when it asks for a break. Respect your mind when it seeks rest. Honor yourself when you need a moment to yourself.”

20 – “Live as if you needed nothing more.”

21 – “All it takes is a walk in the middle of nature, stopping for a moment to listen, to hear yourself, to strip off the superfluous and understand that you don’t need much to live well.”

22 – “With too much, you lose yourself. With less, we find ourselves.”

23 – “It’s tempting to want to move fast, but happiness is here and now. By focusing too much on the things that remain to be done, we forget to live.”

24 – “You don’t always need plans. Sometimes you just need to breathe, have faith, let go and see what happens.”

For better thinking :

25 – “Sometimes the best thing to do is to stop thinking, stop questioning, stop imagining all kinds of things… Just breathe and trust that everything will work out for the best.”

26 – “Remember that happiness doesn’t depend on what you are or what you have, but on how you think.”

27 – “The moment you stop worrying about what’s going to happen, you’ll start enjoying what’s happening.”

28 – “Don’t believe everything you think.”

29 – “Today is the tomorrow you were worrying about yesterday, and you see, everything’s just fine.”

30 – “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.”

31 – “Don’t let bad thoughts paralyze your mind. Teach them to dance.”

32 – “I began to be free when I discovered that the cage was made of thoughts.”

Zen quotes to soothe :

33 – “Learn to write your wounds in sand and carve your joys in stone.”

34 – “Happiness is continuing to desire what you have.”

35 – “For every end, there is always a new beginning.”

36 – “I am free to choose serenity.”

37 – “Life is a gift, not a burden.”

38 – “There is no such thing as chance. Every circumstance in life is a gift to bring about further growth in the light.”

39 – “When you love what you have, you have everything you need.”

40 – “Smile. You’re alive!”

41 – “It’s not what happens to you that matters, but how you react to it.”

42 – “When you get up in the morning, remember how precious is the privilege of living, breathing and being happy.”

43 – “I breathe in the positive. I exhale the negative.”

44 – “Today is the best day of our lives, for yesterday no longer exists and tomorrow may never dawn. The past suffocates us with regrets and remorse, the future lulls us with illusions. Let’s enjoy the sunrise, and rejoice in the sunset. Let’s stop saying “it’s too early” or “it’s too late”; happiness is here: it’s the present moment.”

45 – “Accept what is, let go of what was, and trust in what will be.”

46 – “I accepted my life for what it offered me, instead of hating it for what it didn’t want to give me.”

47 – “You are where you need to be. Just breathe. Everything is perfect!”

48 – “Don’t dwell in the past, don’t dream of the future, focus your mind on the present moment.”

49 – “Every morning, we are reborn. What you do today is what matters most.”

50 – “Smile, you don’t have all the world’s problems on your shoulders.”

51 – “Happiness is not always in an eternally blue sky, but in the simplest things in life.”

To become more patient :

52 – “Here and now, I no longer resist, I let go and learn to trust the Universe. I move forward with patience, because I know that everything arrives at the right moment on my path.”

53 – “What must be will be, in time. Trust and wait patiently.”

54 – “Don’t judge the day by the evening harvest, but by the seeds you sow.”

55 – “One step at a time. One day at a time.”

56 – “Nature is in no hurry, and yet everything is accomplished.”

57 – “Millions of flowers open without force. You too, don’t force anything; everything happens at the right time.”

58 – “He who moves a mountain begins by moving small stones.”

59 – “All men think that happiness lies at the top of the mountain, whereas it lies in the way you climb it.”

60 – “The art of living is a subtle blend of letting go and holding on.”

61 – “A moment of patience in a moment of anger prevents a thousand moments of regret.”

62 – “Never rush things. If a thing is to happen, it will happen, at the right time, with the right person, for the best reason and to last.”

Zen quotes for zen relationships :

63 – “Don’t let other people’s behavior destroy your inner peace.”

64 – “By accepting people as they are… I magically free myself of unnecessary weight and stress in my life.”

65 – “Everyone you meet has something to teach you.”

66 – “Sow a reproach and you’ll reap resentment and disenchantment. Sow love and gratitude and you’ll reap tenderness and gratitude.”

67 – “Whatever you think and say, keep in mind that you are both right and wrong.”

68 – “You must give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”

69 – “When you’re willing to take the trouble to look at someone, to hold them, to breathe gently, to listen to how their heart beats, how life flows through them, then you hear many silent things.”

70 – “Spend more time with people who bring you tenderness rather than those who stress you out.”

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Opening up to spirituality: 100 quotes that are good for the soul
Discover Wanting to control everything: 6 tips for zen living

I recommend this inspiring book:

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace is at Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh is a guide to cultivating peace in daily life through the practice of mindfulness. The book offers practical teachings and mindfulness exercises that encourage readers to bring awareness and tranquility to every moment. Focusing on the power of mindful living, Thich Nhat Hanh shows how simple actions and mindful breathing can lead to inner peace. Peace is at Every Step provides a roadmap for integrating mindfulness into daily routines, fostering a sense of calm and cultivating a peaceful way of being in the world.

Life is a miracle, so don’t waste another minute… What a book! What a beautiful manuscript and what a simple, unique text (anyone can read it). There are so many common sense lessons that we should already know, OR that we do know but don’t practice for one reason or another. Anyway, how refreshing and revitalizing it is to see some of these wonderful lessons unfold in black and white…

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself