Do you sometimes acknowledge your need to rest but then end up busying yourself or scrolling on your phone? At best your body was kept busy while your mind quieted or your body was still while your mind kept going. Rest does not happen when we are outputting or inputting. It happens when we are silent and still. If you think "silence" and "stillness" are synonymous, reflect a bit more and notice the beautifully nuanced difference between the two words.

There might be another conundrum you face when it comes to rest. Knowing you need to rest but not feeling it is important enough to give it your full attention. Rest becomes something haphazard, something done with distraction. Yet it is vital to rest, release and find repose.

Sometimes we need someone else to remind us why rest is so important. Below you will find 10 curated quotes from wise humans who have a way with words that will instill within you a sense of urgency to make space and time for rest in your life, the kind that includes silence, stillness and magic.

1. "When we give ourselves the chance to let go of all our tension, the body's natural capacity to heal itself can work. True relaxation is an experience of coming back to ourselves, of being at one with ourselves and with the universe."

Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step

2. "To be still is to be in tune with the universe, to listen to the whispers of your soul that guide you to your purpose."

Yara Shahidi, Quoted in Essence magazine interviews

3. "The deeper you go into yourself, the more you realize that you are not separate from the universe. Letting go of tension and embracing rest allows your heart to open to the vastness of existence."

Yung Pueblo, Inward

4."When we sit to meditate, we're really just sitting with ourselves in a very simple way. We're not doing anything, and that not-doing becomes the occasion for meeting our own mind and heart, and touching the sacredness of life."

Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart

5. "Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future... A day of rest, of contemplation, is a day to know yourself and God."

Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

6. "In the quiet of the night, when we rest in the arms of the Goddess, we hear the song of the stars and know we are part of the great mystery."

Starhawk, The Spiral Dance

7. "To rest is to honor the divine in you, to sit quietly and let the earth's heartbeat remind you that you are never alone in the universe."

Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar

8. "When we rest in ritual, we touch the eternal now, where the cycles of the moon and the turning of the seasons weave us into the fabric of the cosmos."

Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon

9. "To rest in solitude is to come home to ourselves, to find that sacred space where we are one with the divine love that created us."

bell hooks, Sister of the Yam

10. "I love to rest my body under the open sky, feeling the world's spirit move through me, telling me I am part of something bigger than I can ever know."

Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

If the quotes above stir your soul and awaken a sense of yearning to know yourself and know the divine, you have come to the right place. Our course Journey to Your Essence is launching soon. Sign up for our newsletter below to be the first to know and to find out when new blog posts like this one are published.