From "What We Can Learn From Solitude/Contemporary hermits are reaching out to people struggling with isolation. Their message: Go inward, and get outside" (NYT). The internal quotes above are all from Karen Karper Fredette who is married to a former Catholic priest. She's 78, and she "spent 30 years in a monastery after high school before leaving to live as a hermit in a cabin in West Virginia." At the link, there's an excellent photograph of the 2 of them standing on that rock.
November 29, 2020
"They can live anywhere, but tend to reside in modest dwellings and avoid moving around unnecessarily. Nevertheless, a hermit..."
"... should also not be confused with a recluse. The difference... is that hermits do not exit society because of misanthropy. 'I would define a hermit or a person who chooses solitude as one who chooses solitude for spiritual reasons... and we do accent the spiritual, but it can be any form of spiritual.'... The Fredettes began creating YouTube videos to help hermits and hermit-curious people deal with isolation.... [T]he Fredettes and other hermits believe that anyone could benefit from incorporating some eremitic fundamentals — such as being rooted in place, practicing austerity and committing to a daily schedule that prioritizes prayer or meditation — to help them make sense of their isolation into their lives, regardless of personality type, religiosity, or life circumstances... 'We have a rock, a huge rock, that’s sticking out of the mountains... Her name is Petra. And we have a path that leads right out to Petra. And when things are difficult I go out and I lean on Petra, and I say, "Give me some guidance."'"
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Is a person defined by what they do or by the excuses they use for their behavior?
Karen Karper Fredette: We have a rock, a huge rock, that’s sticking out of the mountains... Her name is Petra.
"And I tell you, you are Petros, and on this Petra I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." — Matthew 16:18, English Standard Version, Koine interpolations by me
I recommend Terry Pratchett's Small Gods to anyone wishing to understand the core of hermit life.
Hermits are dyeing their hair now, are they?
The Fredettes
Okay, so it's a family name. I wasn't sure if it was a female Flinstones-worshipping cult or the "I'm Too Sexy" guy's backup dancers.
Nowadays, whenever I read somebody expound on the distinction between words, I wonder if there's really anything in it or if it's just somebody pushing their own ideology or self-interest.
I am a hermit. You are a recluse. That other guy is a derelict.
I thought of that verse too.
As to how they live, I wish them joy of it.
Narr
Nobody up here but us stylites
Hermits don't attract many commenters.
Overthinking Covid example # 762
There is a film about Carthusian hermits called Into Great Silence available on Amazon to view or purchase as a DVD set. It details the life of the Carthusians at their mother house in the French Alps. It can be a chore to watch in its entirety, because the life of the monks - - they are more properly hermits-in-community, with each living in a "cell" that is more a tiny two-story apartment with a small garden, and none of the hermits can see what any other of them is doing. They spend approximately 20 of each 24 hours in the cell, with the other four hours given to a communal mass, a chapter of faults, etc. Once a week they are allowed out for a communal hike in the country side. But the rest is silence.
What we can learn is that it's killing old people.
https://mobile.twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1332551069461843968
Politicians do some evil shit to get rid of OrangeManBad.
News at never o'clock.
I've commented here before one of my elders was the hermit of impassable canyon in Idaho. He has a float trip camp named after him. Given the constitution of my other relatives I suspect he was a hermit because people suck.
There is an Association of Hermits? What, they all get together and sit apart? The Society for Unsociability?
And what do you call such a collection? A solitude of hermits?
I don't find that physical isolation is necessary for social isolation. A long-ago girlfriend told me about some baby raccoons her family raised in Maine. She said you had to handle them every day, or they forgot they were tame. I understood immediately how that worked. It's not natural to let dangerous things approach you, and get their hands on you. Your instincts counsel against it.
Lurker21,
I am a hermit. You are a recluse. That other guy is a derelict.
You're thinking of "Yes, Prime Minister"'s "irregular verbs," right? As in
"I have an independent mind; you are eccentric; he's gone round the twist."
Or
"I give confidential briefings to the press; you leak; he has been charged under Section 2(a) [NB not sure whether the section number is correct] of the Official Secrets Act."
Speaking of things British, the hermit sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus is another MP classic. Hermits chatting together about whether to decorate their caves with wattles, &c.:
[Second Hermit:] You see, you know that is the trouble with living half way up a cliff -- you feel so cut off. You know it takes me two hours every morning to get out onto the moors, collect my berries, chastise myself, and two hours back in the evening.
[First Hermit:] Still there's one thing about being a hermit, at least you meet people.
[Second Hermit:] Oh, yes, I wouldn't go back to public relations.
Junior year of high school we were supposed to pick a career and write a report. I chose hermit. Famous hermits in history. Average hermit income. Opportunities for advancement. Cave management. It was one of the few school projects I ever put any effort into.
Guidance counselor rejected my paper. Said hermit wasn't a career. Guess I showed him.
I first encountered that declension theme in the old New York (not the New Yorker) magazine in the 1970s--
I am a liberal, you are a pinko, he's a Red.
I am a conservative, you are a right-winger, he's a Nazi
(Please spare me, and all of us, lectures on how Nazism isn't really rightwing at all; it's an example.)
My best moment in highschool smartassery came when I was returning a set of auditorium backstage keys to the school office. The new assistant principle hadn't met me (I was new to the crew myself) and asked just how many people were on the stage crew anyway?
The headlines and airwaves were full of some itinerant evangelist's schtick that 30 to 50% of all Memphis high school students were addicted to drugs, so without hesitation I said "Oh, we're about 30 to 50 percent of the student body." He was young enough, new enough, and cool enough to wave me out without further incident.
Narr
I'm sure 30 to 50% had tried drugs, starting with booze, by junior year
upiter said...
There is an Association of Hermits? What, they all get together and sit apart? The Society for Unsociability?
Personally, I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.
My attention was drawn to the mug in his hand. Who climbs a boulder with a mug in one hand?
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