withdrawing into the open

[saw]

when a man opts out
to become a hermit, leaving
the society he no longer cares for
is he also leaving humanity ?

maybe not, he may give shelter
or blessings, perhaps even wisdom
to a lost stranger stumbling through
the dark black forest

could it be
he merely has special needs
requires separation from worldly
commodities,

the daily grist, the race of rodents
the neighbors unfettered brats,
in-laws, tax collectors, road rage

Thoreau seemed to find something
himself
while he was a cohabitant with squirrels
beaver, deer, red fox, black crow

Emerson had to travel for days on end
through the remote Scottish thicket
to visit a good friend that had made this choice
Nietzsche paid homage in Zarathustra

therefore I can only see a hermit
as an old wise man with a long white bushy beard
but couldn't it be an introspective daring young woman
as well

perhaps the hermit is an alternative
to the church, maybe the best way
to find god is through quiet personal reflection
in a solitary environment

I mean, even monks see other monks
maybe only by withdrawing from the outer world
the one with human beings and their stuff
can one find the inner self

[theirishsea]

An interesting idea----and probably one adopted by the hermits themselves. The old saying---"no man is an island" is true but sometimes people have tp live off the coast of society.

[saw]

yea danno, we may need to go off , at least figuratively to a place that's not so in your face all the time, to get in touch with the universe that exists happily without our intrusions.....not saying we can't come back....I try to leave reality on a daily basis to protect my fragile sanity from the charlatan carnival barkers...
only to return later that day...........thanx for checking in........