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If I Were a Hermit, I’d Live in a Cabin in the Woods
Since @cliffordbrown has given us the freedom to be anything or anyone we want to be for Group Writing this month, I have decided I would like to become a hermit. I would find a two-room cabin that is surrounded by trees but receives enough sunshine to light the small main room, bright rays splashing across the wooden floor. It would have to have electricity and indoor plumbing.
I would take special care decorating the cabin: hooked rugs, wooden shelves, two comfortable chairs, and a small sofa. The colors would be a tribute to fall—oranges, light browns, and deep reds. There would be small toss pillows to create the feeling of softness and healing. And a small wooden table with one wooden chair, with a pillow on the seat, in front of a window that looks out on the breathtaking scenery.
The cabin would be located in a place where my cell phone would work. I rarely use the phone, but I don’t want to be completely cut off from humanity—only mostly. I would receive no newspapers, and let the world carry on without my supervision. I would have my old laptop computer to be able to write, but no connection to the internet.
How would I fill my days? I would take two walks: a brisk walk in the morning on the path that starts near the front door. In the afternoon I would take a leisurely walk, traveling in the opposite direction, watching for birds and small critters, feeling the sun on my face, and simply breathing. In the cabin, I would listen to music; I’ve thought about learning about and listening to opera. I would spend time journaling at least part of the day, reflecting on how to find peace of mind, how to adjust to getting older, how to appreciate both the ease and discomfort of being alone.
I would pray. I would meditate. I would read. I would take naps. I would remind myself that I’m not really alone because G-d is always there. I would knit. I would read poetry. I might write poetry.
I would bask in the peacefulness of body and soul.
* * *
How long would I live as a hermit? A week? A month? A year? Probably not a year. I have people I love and care about who I’d like to think might miss me, and I would surely grow to miss them. I have people who are woven into my life, and without them I know I would feel an emptiness that books and music can’t replace.
But it is lovely to think of escaping. Leaving the virus and masks and violence and riots and politics behind.
At the same time, that is not living. Life calls us to be engaged and present and loving to others.
But I can imagine and dream.
Published in Group Writing
Sounds like a nice place to be, Susan. I think I could do this for a month about once a year. Kind of like “recharging the batteries”.
I’m not sure the world can carry on without your supervision.
I think I got enough isolation during the first month of the quarantine. It’s great for a few weeks but get’s boring fast. I need the discipline of schedules. Not everyone is like that.
I could probably manage it for a few decades, so long as I had a good Internet connection.
I could manage it for several hours. Counting sleep time.
Hermits don’t have cell phones. Or color-coordinated pillows. Just a quill pen, some ink, and parchment for missives to be sent to Ricochet surrogates for posting apocalyptic visions and screeds with the occasional recipe idea or tips for fun uses for old flour sacks and squirrel hides.
Oh, aren’t you sweet! I think . . .
Say, @oldbathos, that sounds interesting. I think . . .
Often when I am asked where my wife and I will spend our vacation, I say we are going to a log cabin in the mountains. If they ask for details, I explain that we live in a log home (“cabin”) near West Virginia. As they say, West Virginia is “Almost Heaven” and we are Almost West Virginia, so therefore…..
Our place meets most of your requirements, but we do have a couple of extra rooms. The phones work – sorta – and the internet is kind of there. The critters are plentiful. The last two mornings, my walk has been watching the sun rise through the mist over the neighbors field while listening to the hawks in the woods across the street from our house.
One thing I would add to your requirements is to have enough of a porch to have a rocking chair. Sometimes that is the best place to watch critters. When we moved in, we only brought 2 rocking chairs the first night. We slept on the floor, but happily rocked on the porch the next morning.
…. where I’m about to go now
Oh – and get a dog. Are hermits allowed to have dogs? If not, I don’t want the job.
I love when you describe your home, @willowspring. But I want your dogs! Yes, a porch would be wonderful, too. Thanks for the suggestions!
Sounds more like a vacation than a lifestyle. But its all good.
I would love to have a little writing (or gaming) cabin just like in the picture. It has to have all the amenities mentioned, and it can even be located behind our house. I’m not a hermit, but I get hermit-like when writing, editing, or gaming. Any interruption – no matter how small – bothers the heck out of me, and it takes time to calm back down and return to what I was doing. Imagine fighting a dragon, your health bar is dropping faster than your healing potions can help you, and the stupid cats downstairs decide to hiss and spit at one another . . . arrrggghh!!!
Yeah, what next, “I’m gonna call up my friends and see we can be hermits together!”?
Nope. Please note that my little table has only one chair!
Double Post.
Who’s in the underground lab?
No worries. No basement.
“But it is lovely to think of escaping.” Yes! And that’s at the heart of it all, isn’t it? I love escaping. It’s why I travel. But I am only good for about two weeks at a time. But the minute I get home, I start planning my next escape. (I wonder why that is?)
Beautiful post. As always.
Me neither!!
I used the term “semi-hermit” jsut the other day describing the last 6 months.
Thanks, @imfine! I rarely imagine escaping, but it sure can be a delight! I’m pretty much the same way about travel. We haven’t been out much, but I’m looking forward to the time when we feel we can! And thanks for the kind words.
I’d want a lakeside cabin, and I’d want the lake to have decent tributaries that I could explore in a canoe.
Oooh, that sounds lovely. I think I might end up oaring in circles, though. But maybe I could learn to go straight! Thanks, Mis.
A hermit Meetup!
Yes, folks, this month is your ticket to dream, ruminate, or pontificate. Don’t be shy, step up and join the conversation this month, playing off September’s theme “If I was a —, I would —.”
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.
Took me way too long to pipe up about this in this post, but the picture of the cabin on the OP was taken from a YouTube channel called “My Self Reliance”. Shawn James lives in the woods in Ontario in the cabin he’s built by himself. I’m not sure he qualifies as a hermit, but he spends weeks or months at a time with just his Golden Retriever, Cali. Highly recommended…there are many videos that have no dialog — just Shawn doing outdoor stuff. https://www.youtube.com/c/ShawnJamesMySelfReliance/featured
That sounds lovely, @hinch. Thanks!