Today is Hermit Day

When I was a little girl, often a traveling stranger would pass though our neighborhood. A stowaway from the local railway cars, or just a drifter looking for work, we all knew to lock ourselves inside the house until he drifted through.

Mom called them "bums", and I suppose that sounds cruel, but we knew no other name for these poor, dirty, (and probably hungry) men that had no home. And although we were afraid of them, we also felt sorry for them.

Today I wonder if they were simply hermits- choosing to live a solitary life of peace and simplicity. Perhaps they refused to accept the ways of society in order to focus on nature, religion, or their true identity. Their responsibilities were only to themselves- and consisted of two basic things- shelter and food.

How many of us nowadays wish we could pare down our possessions and needs into a more comfortable and less stressful lifestyle? Wouldn't it benefit our health as well as our purse to do away with credit cards, car loans, mortgage payments and frivolous spending?

That proves to be a difficult task in today's society. Our environment was built for constant communication with others- through cell phones, email, social networking, television, co-workers, education and sports. Not one of us could walk away from all of that today and really expect to survive.

One reason is- that we are spoiled. We depend on the electric company, the water company, the grocery store, our internet and cell phone provider, our boss, our vehicles, our bank accounts and our retail outlets.
What if those were to suddenly disappear? Would you have enough food, an alternate heat source, fresh water and a way to communicate? Would you know where to go, what to do, how to live?

Besides the obvious reasons to become more self-sufficient, there can be a bonus to becoming a "hermit". The days would be open and full of peace. The songs of birds, the rustle of wildlife, the feel of the sunlight, the color of the sunset...There would be less stress, more time, and a better appreciation for all that we have.

Thoreau is an example of a man who attempted to become a "hermit" from society. And his words are to be studied by those of us who rely too much on "things".

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. 
I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. 
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms..." 

I'm not suggesting that we all run to the woods and live off nature. What I am trying to say is that we should all learn to "unplug" once in awhile. That we should weigh our choices and get a grasp of our finances. That we should take the time to study an alternate lifestyle in case our society was suddenly uprooted. That we should turn off the cell and the TV and the obligations to others- and learn to be a hermit- if just for one day....


"Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. I would drink deeper; fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars."  ~ Thoreau