Historically, hermits (from the Greek word erēmia, meaning desert) chose to be apart from society, going against the grain of human biology, which has us programmed to be social animals. Now, with widespread, worldwide social distancing in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, we're experiencing a mild form of a hermit's existence, although social media and communication have mitigated the "aloneness" feature to a great degree. We, personally, FaceTime and text with family regularly, for example, and find the ability to connect with them a relief, but no substitute for being with them.
In an interesting article by BBC's Hepzibah Anderson, she explores the various modes of solitude, from religious monks who have chosen that path, to individuals who have "unplugged" from the chaos of modern life and found solace in rural life. Some observations in the article:
“[L]oneliness” is a word that rarely appears at all in English before about 1800. That’s in part due to the cramped intergenerational lifestyles that people were forced to lead. Living alone, as so many of us now do, would have been almost unheard of.
Not that being alone is synonymous with loneliness. If we confuse the two, it’s probably because we live in a society in which being on your own continues to be used as a punishment, from toddler time-outs to solitary confinement. Yet as anyone who’s ever walked into a sea of unfamiliar faces at a crowded party knows, there is a difference between feeling alone and being alone. [snip]
The creative benefits to be had from time spent alone are ample. Greek philosopher Plato, who’s known as the first poet of solitude, insisted that he needed it to think. Making ‘The Case for Hermits’ in his 1935 essay, English writer GK Chesterton was blunter: 'If men do not have Solitude, they go mad,' he declared. Not for nothing did Virginia Woolf fantasise about that room of her own and poet William Wordsworth declare solitude 'bliss'”. (our emphasis)The whole article is worth the read. So, while it's clearly not the way most of us want to continue to live, we might find this "alone" period one in which we get better acquainted with ourselves, renew dormant friendships, find creative outlets for our energy, help the heroes, and hopefully emerge healthy and the better for it.
