--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a thing it is to sit absolutely…" description: "\"What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg" --- # What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest… ![“What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows!…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg) > “What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows! Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants this rain. As long as it talks I am going to listen.” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Solitude in nature offers a pure, unmediated communion with the world, where even rain speaks a comforting language. **In simple terms:** Nature’s sounds bring peace. Key Takeaway Listen to natural rhythms. Themes solitude nature spirituality Mood contemplative serene Type poetic spiritual When to use this quote - forest walks - meditation - rain listening - creative writing Key Concepts mindfulness ecology Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect your thoughts? - What does rain symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Modern life can distract from such deep listening, making it hard to sustain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutely Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutely-forest-3238673/) [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Comforting Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting-speech-3238671/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Ridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridges/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Speech Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-comforting-3238672/) [Talk Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-rain-1425261/) [Unintelligible Perfectly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unintelligible-perfectly-3238674/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Im so fly I could talk to rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2-chainz/im-so-fly-i-could-talk-to-rain/) [2 Chainz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2-chainz/) > [ What has been said of \[God\] is either unintelligible or perfectly contradictory; and for this reason must appear impossible to every man of common… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/what-has-been-said-of-god-is-either-unintelligible-or-perfectly/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [Enjoyment, on the other hand, is not always pleasant, and it can be very stressful at times. A mountain climber, for example, may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/enjoyment-on-the-other-hand-is-not-always-pleasant-and-it-can-be-very/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/eastward-the-dawn-rose-ridge-behind-ridge-into-the-morning-and/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [It's not enough to celebrate the ideals that we're built on, liberty and justice and equality for all. Those just can't be words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-not-enough-to-celebrate-the-ideals-that-we-re-built-on-liberty/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I don't believe it is in the state's interest to industrialize our ridge lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-it-is-in-the-state-s-interest-to-industrialize-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, Malcolm MacPherson vividly brings to life this harrowing story of courage, pathos, and war at its grittiest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-winik/in-the-tradition-of-black-hawk-down-malcolm-macpherson-vividly-brings/) [Jay Winik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-winik/) > [There was a place in the Hills, on the first ridge in the Game Reserve, that I myself at the time when I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/there-was-a-place-in-the-hills-on-the-first-ridge-in-the-game-reserve/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [On the ridge where the great artist moves forward, every step is an adventure, an extreme risk. In that risk, however, and only there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/on-the-ridge-where-the-great-artist-moves-forward-every-step-is-an/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The gloomy recess of an ecclesiastical library is like a harbor, into which a far-traveling curiosity has sailed with its freight, and cast anchor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/the-gloomy-recess-of-an-ecclesiastical-library-is-like-a-harbor-into/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow, winding and only slightly uphill. May the wind bring rain for the slickrock potholes fourteen miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/may-your-trails-be-dim-lonesome-stony-narrow-winding-and-only/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Inanimate objects are sometimes parties to litigation. A ship has a legal personality, a fiction found useful for maritime purposes. The corporation sole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/inanimate-objects-are-sometimes-parties-to-litigation-a-ship-has-a/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Poetry is like walking along a little, tiny, narrow ridge up on a precipice. You never know the next step, whether there's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-jacobsen/poetry-is-like-walking-along-a-little-tiny-narrow-ridge-up-on-a/) [Josephine Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-jacobsen/) > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Comforting quotes > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Because the truth wouldn't be comforting and wouldn't bring them closer again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/because-the-truth-wouldn-t-be-comforting-and-wouldn-t-bring-them/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Soothing touch, whether it be applied to a ruffled cat, a crying infant, or a frightened child, has a universally recognized power to ameliorate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/soothing-touch-whether-it-be-applied-to-a-ruffled-cat-a-crying-infant/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [“Reth reached out and took my fingers in his own, his touch light but comforting. “I’ve found that sacrifice is called that for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/reth-reached-out-and-took-my-fingers-in-his-own-his-touch-light-but/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Euthanasia" is an excellent and comforting word! I am grateful to whoever invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/euthanasia-is-an-excellent-and-comforting-word-i-am-grateful-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [At first, I had such stage fright, and it was always comforting to look over and see my big brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-spielberg/at-first-i-had-such-stage-fright-and-it-was-always-comforting-to-look/) [Sasha Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-spielberg/) > [Truth is often uncomfortable. It is only comforting to those who do not wish to ignore it. Then, truth becomes not only comforting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/truth-is-often-uncomfortable-it-is-only-comforting-to-those-who-do/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [I've been sent down to the minor leagues six or seven times in my career. You've just got to have that stability. It's huge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-diaz/i-ve-been-sent-down-to-the-minor-leagues-six-or-seven-times-in-my/) [Matt Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-diaz/) > [The upshot here is that Gil Scott-Heron is still a warrior, even if the front lines have moved. He's made a record not without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hermes/the-upshot-here-is-that-gil-scott-heron-is-still-a-warrior-even-if/) [Will Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hermes/) > [The person in misery does not need a look that judges and criticizes but a comforting presence that brings peace and hope and life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/the-person-in-misery-does-not-need-a-look-that-judges-and-criticizes/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [The search for God is a reversal of the normal, mundane worldly order. In search for God, you revert from what attracts you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-search-for-god-is-a-reversal-of-the-normal-mundane-worldly-order/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Soeur Marie Emelie" Soeur Marie Emelie is little and very old: her eyes are onyx, and her cheeks vermilion, her apron wide and kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/soeur-marie-emelie-soeur-marie-emelie-is-little-and-very-old-her-eyes/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [I just found it interesting to talk to adults I admired, and to discover that the path they took was never all that clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/i-just-found-it-interesting-to-talk-to-adults-i-admired-and-to/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [What is this Charity, this clinking of money between strangers, and when did Charity cease to be a comforting and secret thing between one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-benson/what-is-this-charity-this-clinking-of-money-between-strangers-and/) [Stella Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-benson/) [Browse all 697 Comforting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows! Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants this rain. As long as it talks I am going to listen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Merton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alone-in-the-forest-at-night/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comforting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alone-in-the-forest-at-night/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87d/thomas-merton-231_comforting_what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alo_1148977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful…” — Thomas Merton", "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": "Thomas Merton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What a thing it is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alone-in-the-forest-at-night/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-a-thing-it-is-to-sit-absolutely-alone-in-the-forest-at-night/#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 } } ] } ```