Quotes by theme

11 Quotes About Inner Peace

Not the absence of storms, but stillness within them. These quotes — from Taoist, Stoic and Buddhist sources — point toward the calm that does not depend on circumstances.

“The stressor is not the same as the stress. You can deal with the stressor and still be stressed. You complete the stress cycle in the body — by moving, breathing, laughing, crying, connecting, creating, or being held — or the stress stays.”

— Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski Burnout

“It is like flying. You see your hands doing the surgery, but you are somewhere above, watching, calm.”

— A heart surgeon, age 62 Flow State

“Peace begins with me.”

— Morrnah Simeona Hoʻoponopono

“He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Hygge

“You will never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.”

— Tove Jansson (Moomin author) Sisu

“Who can wait quietly while the mud settles? Who can remain still until the moment of action?”

— Lao Tzu The Tao

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

— Dalai Lama Tonglen

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh Tonglen

“When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.”

— Nelson Mandela Ubuntu

“No matter how full the river is, it still wants to grow.”

— Congolese proverb Ubuntu

“If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.”

— Andrew Juniper Wabi-Sabi