Archive - Letters from a Part-time Hermit

"What is your deepest desire?" the nun asked

Desires, fixations, delusions, and the true call of your heart

Apr 15 •

Heidi Haverkamp

January 2024

The Secret Life of Our Little Free Library

Thoughts about giving things away for free

Jan 29 •

Heidi Haverkamp

December 2023

Advent Unknowing

Last summer, I tried to write another Advent book. I’d been reading the mystical medieval work The Cloud of Unknowing -- for the first time, it was…

Dec 15, 2023 •

Heidi Haverkamp

October 2023

"How long can this place last?"

Monastery decline, church decline, grief, grace

Oct 31, 2023 •

Heidi Haverkamp

July 2023

Back From a Buddhist Silent Retreat

Last week, I went on a five-day meditation retreat with some Buddhists from Ohio at a retreat center near Muncie, Indiana. Who knew that Muncie was a…

Jul 27, 2023 •

Heidi Haverkamp

April 2023

Does She Live in a House in the Woods?

On hermit houses, suburban houses, and a homebody vocation

Apr 3, 2023 •

Heidi Haverkamp

January 2023

The Joy of Being Silly

Some red hearts and pink cookies can be good for the soul - and the whole world

Jan 31, 2023 •

Heidi Haverkamp

November 2022

A Spirituality of Homesickness

Last month, on a road trip, I left my wallet at a maple syrup stand in Western Massachusetts. I didn’t realize this until we were 100 miles away. But my…

Nov 17, 2022 •

Heidi Haverkamp

September 2022

A Big Empty Room and the Holy Spirit

Last month, I tried to visit the library at the local mainline seminary. When I walked in . . . the room was empty. No books. No shelves. All gone! But…

Sep 9, 2022 •

Heidi Haverkamp

June 2022

The Hopeful Power of Pausing for a Moment

On a hot and sunny Saturday last month, I went to an art fair. There was a small town of white pop-up tents with a hundred fifty artists, sharing…

Jun 9, 2022 •

Heidi Haverkamp

April 2022

Shopping, Fasting, and the Middle Way

A check-in on my attempt to buy no new stuff from New Year's until Easter

Apr 13, 2022 •

Heidi Haverkamp

February 2022

Hermit Rules for Lenten Disciplines

Once upon a time, there was an African hermit who, without really intending to, became the abbot of a bunch of other hermits out in the Egyptian desert…

Feb 22, 2022 •

Heidi Haverkamp

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