Elizabeth Anglin

Note: When I nine years old, I told my mother that I wanted to be a hermit when I grew up.  I couldn't articulate why at the time, but I was sure that being a hermit was what I wanted more than anything.  Thirty-five years later I still want to be a hermit, and I can tell you the reasons why.

Why I want to be a Hermit when I grow up.

I want to be a hermit when I grow up because then I will be able to spend all my time in the woods with the animals.  As a hermit, I will notice that no springtime is the same as any other springtime.  I will notice that butterflies do emerge before the snow melts, and that old aspen trunks are easiest to remove from the ground the day after the snow has melted.

I want to be a hermit because I only want to deal with the natural order of things, and not the subjectively perceived order of things, the made-up man made imposed order of things. I want to be a hermit because I like noticing the little things.  Bugs, rocks, birds, buds, what color the grass is today, and whether or not there are mushrooms in the manure pile.

I want to be a hermit because I don’t want to exist as a tool in any one else’s campaign – whether that campaign is a war, a bid for re-election, a corporate takeover, an article (especially not by a skeptic), a book, or a campaign to get more attention by creating more conflict and drama through gossip and innuendo.

I want to be a hermit because I like actual mud and dirt,not proverbial mud and dirt.  Walking through the mud of snowmelt streams in springtime is joyful experience for me.  Most people don’t like real mud and dirt as much as I do, and they like proverbial mud and dirt much more than I do.  It’s too bad they don’t like real mud and dirt as much as proverbial mud and dirt, they are missing out on all the wonderful things they might experience if they did.

 I want to be a hermit when I grow up because it would challenge me to continue to concentrate on the nature of “real” reality, without the distractions of “imposed upon” reality,which often seem to kick me out of my body into realms of emotional stress and trauma that can refuse to depart my mental space for decades.