--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And having returned from the woods, we…" description: "\"“And having returned from the woods, we remember with regret its restfulness. For all creatures there are in place, hence at rest. In their most strenu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg" --- # And having returned from the woods, we remember with… ![“And having returned from the woods, we remember with regret its restfulness. For all creatures there are in place, hence at rest. In their most strenuous striving, sleeping and waking, dead and living, they are at rest. In the circle of the human we are weary with striving, and are without rest.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg) > ““And having returned from the woods, we remember with regret its restfulness. For all creatures there are in place, hence at rest. In their most strenuous striving, sleeping and waking, dead and living, they are at rest. In the circle of the human we are weary with striving, and are without rest.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All beings, including humans, are ultimately in a state of rest despite constant activity; recognizing this can alleviate our sense of relentless striving. **In simple terms:** Everyone rests at the core, even when busy. Key Takeaway Accept that rest is natural and necessary. Themes rest philosophy human condition Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - work life - creative projects - personal health - spiritual practice Key Concepts impermanence balance Questions to Reflect On - What does rest look like for you? - How can you integrate true rest into daily routines? A Different Perspective Modern life often glorifies constant hustle, making rest feel guilty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [How sleep the brave, who sink to rest, By all their country's wishes blest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-collins/how-sleep-the-brave-who-sink-to-rest-by-all-their-country-s-wishes/) [William Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-collins/) > [Rest strengthens the body, the mind too is thus supported; but unremitting toil destroys both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rest-strengthens-the-body-the-mind-too-is-thus-supported-but/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [If I rest, if I think inward, I go mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-i-rest-if-i-think-inward-i-go-mad/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Give it your best, you don't have to be like the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/give-it-your-best-you-don-t-have-to-be-like-the-rest/) God > [If you have to, take a break, go to your corner, get some sleep, but don't ever give up. You will get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-cunningham/if-you-have-to-take-a-break-go-to-your-corner-get-some-sleep-but-don/) [Colin Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-cunningham/) > [In work we act under the predominant motive of external, rational necessities; in pleasure, under the predominant motive of other, equally general necessities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolay-chernyshevsky/in-work-we-act-under-the-predominant-motive-of-external-rational/) Nikolay Chernyshevsky > [“My parents took us to dinner but we came back early. Tomorrow was to be a day of days and we must get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-otis-skinner/my-parents-took-us-to-dinner-but-we-came-back-early-tomorrow-was-to/) [Cornelia Otis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-otis-skinner/) > [“I am at rest and remaining.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-am-at-rest-and-remaining/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [For me being depressed means you can spend all day in bed, and still not get a good night's rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/for-me-being-depressed-means-you-can-spend-all-day-in-bed-and-still/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [“I have this halfway place, a rest stop on the road to sleep, where I can stay for hours. I don't even need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-have-this-halfway-place-a-rest-stop-on-the-road-to-sleep-where-i/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [And the rest is rust and stardust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-the-rest-is-rust-and-stardust/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Better to lose a little rest now than a great of deal of it later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hopson/better-to-lose-a-little-rest-now-than-a-great-of-deal-of-it-later/) Justin Hopson ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And having returned from the woods, we remember with regret its restfulness. For all creatures there are in place, hence at rest. In their most strenuous striving, sleeping and waking, dead and living, they are at rest. In the circle of the human we are weary with striving, and are without rest.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-remember-with-regret-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-remember-with-regret-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/wendell-berry-236_life_and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-re_160120.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And having returned from the woods, we remember with regret its restfulness. For all creatures there are in…” — Wendell Berry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And having returned from the woods,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-remember-with-regret-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/and-having-returned-from-the-woods-we-remember-with-regret-its/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```