Merton talks about his life in and outside the hermitage.  "The best thing that goes on in the hermitage is nothing," quotes Merton. it is the spaces, when the monks simply are to God and he is to them. It is the daily routine, which becomes a transparent sacrament of God's presence and the vehicle of them being present to him.  This is what is important. It has been said that this book is the best and certainly the most profound 'inside' look of the late Thomas Merton so far.