A Hermit’s Life
Last year there were two Japanese soldiers who had been hiding out in an inaccessible part of a jungle in the Far East who came out of the forest and surrendered themselves to the authorities. Apparently, they still believed that the Second World War was still on. Such tales fascinate us. It is a message from another world, when things were different, priorities were different, and a world war was raging. But such events have not only happened in such far away exotic places: they can happen much closer to home.
Our local paper this morning carried a story of a couple who are making a documentary of Willard Kitchener MacDonald. His story was similar to that of the Japanese soldiers. Apparently he jumped from a troop train which was taking soldiers to ship them to the Second war. After that he lived in the wilderness ,only coming our periodically to get supplies. Finally he died alone deep in the woods, at 87 years of age.
Part of us resonates with the idea of hiding out away from the stresses of life. Perhaps that is part of the appeal of retirement. I will have no more pressure from the job. Now I can avoid all the old pressures that have followed me all my working life. It is a lovely fantasy and perhaps one we need to indulge somewhat.
We all have part of us that is a hermit, or an introvert, to put it into psychological language. We want to and need to escape from the pressures. So now the question is what do you do to nurture this side of you that needs piece and quiet? Mothers with young children find it nearly impossible. People in certain professions find life the same, but no matter how extroverted we are, we often need to get away from the maddening crowd. Are you taking the time to do so?