What's a part-time hermit?

Well, I’m not exactly sure. Come puzzle it out with me, or just listen in.

Solitude has always been a pull for me. Reading about hermits has taken up a fair bit of my spare time, and I once spent a month in a hermitage at a monastery. (It was both sublime and crazy-making.) I still want to be a recluse when I grow up, but I also have a dear husband, family, and friends. I go to church and the grocery store, and sometimes I like to be in a great big crowd of people (or I did before COVID-19), give a talk or a sermon, or go to a play. So, I call myself a part-time hermit.

Does part-time sound like a cop out? The thing is, even Thomas Merton had trouble pulling off full-time hermitude.

My intention is to make space here for people of all or no traditions, but my language and foundation is Christian. If you want to know more about me, here’s my website.

Solitude can be a call for anyone, and my hunch is that there are a lot of us who can only do it part-time, but long for it, all the same.

If you know others who hunger for solitude, spread the good word.