Monday, February 21, 2022 On Becoming a Hermit

What is it that causes one to become a hermit? I’m talking about those who choose to avoid society, not those who choose hermitage as a religious pursuit.

I’ve continued to read through Emily Dickinson’s poems and bought an accompanying book about Emily Dickinson as a gardener. It was in the latter book I learned that in her late 20’s/early 30’s she withdrew from society, associating only with close family. She was an odd duck, to be sure – perhaps it was her recognition of being so different from everyone else that drew her inward. Or maybe it was her poetry-inflamed soul that could not cope with small talk and meeting new people. The gardening book has some excerpts from her letters – she seemed unable to write in plain prose. Every thought she had was made up of poetic connections.

The older I get, the more I am a homebody. I like being home. When we go traveling, as much as I enjoy seeing other places and meeting up with friends and family, I am drawn back home as if attached to an invisible tether. But love of home doesn’t equate to a desire to give up on the society of others. I wonder if Emily’s self-imposed isolation was a refuge or a prison? Maybe a little of both.

Just some musings for today.

I’ll probably delete this in the morning as long as I can stay home to do it.