A Sage Guide to Being a Hermit

BY SAGE MATKIN

Do you consider yourself a solitary person? Capable of maintaining one-sided conversations? Don’t mind silence? Granted, these isolationary personality traits might ostracize you in normal society, but civilization is overrated. If you are clever, tough, and able, follow this guide to live your best life…as a hermit.

Having read Christopher Knight’s story, I feel completely apt to direct those into hermitry. However, as a non-hermit society-abiding citizen, what do I know? Read on and follow this guide with your own discretion.

BE COMFORTABLE BECOMING IRRELEVANT.

You are going to be living rurally, meaning no access to: TikTok, Wikipedia, NPR, etc. Events will occur, people will die, and you will be living by yourself unaware of these things. Personally, I’ve always found societal happenings boring, so a life uninfluenced by the external stimuli found in a bustling city or a small rural town seems like a good life. That being said, you will become bored; Knight kept himself busy with books and the sounds of nature. Me? I would bring a deck of cards, books/magazines (especially those suited for special alone time), a musical instrument, and obviously this guide.

Irrelevancy, in this case, is analogous to solitude and being without social interaction. While this is different from loneliness, due to the fact that hermitry is deliberate, there are still mental aspects to consider. On the positive end, solitude has been known to drive creativity and improve self-development. Two hours of silence daily is said to promote cell development in the hippocampus. On the opposing end, solitude is isolating and depressing, with solitary confinement considered the worst non-lethal punishment the prison system has to offer. With that, it is important to take care of yourself out there, because there is literally no one else who is going to. Also, if at any point, you start hearing responses to those one-ended conversations you are so good at maintaining, maybe it’s time to head home.

HAVE SOME SENSE IN HOW THE WORLD WORKS AND HOW TO SURVIVE.

I’m not going to tell you how to live in the woods, that you can learn from another guide. You should be fully confident in such basic mountaineering skills like: setting up camp, pitching a tent, starting a fire (or not, you never know who is gonna see the smoke and scout out your camp), scavenging for resources, and being aware of the environment around you. The life of a hermit is unobstructed by the outside world. As Knight said, “Either you’re hidden or not, no middle ground”.

PICK A LUSH, REMOTE AREA CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING LIFE.

Finding a place to set up for the rest of your life is the biggest factor. If you are out exploring the desert in hopes of finding your forever home, don’t. A dense forest is your sweet spot for a successful societal isolation. You have to think about your survival, which is entirely based on the surrounding ecosystems and what natural material you have at your disposal. To live your best hermit life, I’d advise you to look into forest, grassland, or even mountain ecosystems. These ecosystems are known for being particularly biodiverse, which is what you want. To imagine your best ecosystems, try to fit yourself in the local food chain. Got rabbits or small vermin to hunt? Perfect. Trying to outrun a lion that acts as the apex predator? Not so great. I would also familiarize yourself with the local flora, so as to not end up using edible plants for toilet paper and poisonous ones for sustenance.

Another aspect to consider is the seasonality of the area. Knight put up with the harsh winters of Maine, which is not something I would particularly look forward to. Try to find a region that experiences consistent seasons, little to no natural disasters, and has preferably a long harvest season (for that self-sustaining aspect we discussed).