But nature also comforted and companioned [Thomas] Merton in his troubling orphanhood, as he discovered in the community of creatures a kinship circle he could be at home with. Only in the solitude of nature did Merton truly experience the peace and joy of his Franciscan soul. Only in the simplicity of creation — that world of "sanity and perfection" — offered relief from his gnawing sense of alienation and burdensome habit of introspection.
— Kathleen Deignan, When the Trees Say Nothing