From time to time when the oldest boys played soccer at the farthest and largest pitch, a looming figure would show up in the meadow, not straying too far from the tree line at the top of the hill. Even from a distance you could see the shadows casted by his ribs over the flesh that sunk between them. He towered over the tall grasses of the meadow, putting height estimations anywhere from 6'5"-6'10". His name was Hugo and he dwelled in the forest at the edge of camp property, living as an isolated hermit. When he did make rare appearances at a soccer game, "catch Hugo" became the main objective, but no one was ever able to make it within 200 meters of our long legged and very quick mystery man before he disappeared back into the trees. As legend tells it, Hugo was a Vietnam War Veteran who became disenfranchised with society and decided to spend the rest of his days alone in the woods, without any obligations except the occasional occurrence when he'd wander out of the woods lured by a game.
I don't know what his shelter was made of, what he ate, or what arrangement he had with the eccentric camp director that allowed him to remain undisturbed on the land, but I must assume he lived deliberately and also as an escapist.
One of my biggest crimes in life is mastering the art of avoidance and strongly feeling the urge to reject society, thus the Thoreau lifestyle seems awfully romantic to me. I fantasize about living self-sustainably and "off the grid", selling crafts or other goods to pay taxes and other small expenses that I may have, with the goal being that I can make most of what I need. I also must admit, and this comes with some self-loathing, but that I have been fortunate enough to be born into a fiscal situation where this isn't unfeasible for me. I feel moderately crazy and guilty for wanting so desperately to detach from society, but it's what I see for my future.
I want to spend the majority of my adulthood contemplating my own existence with no obligations and I don't know why.
I'm going to end here, very abruptly, but with a "To Be Continued" sign because I could selfishly and endlessly talk about this and I will possibly make a series out of this.
You may want to look into Noah Rondell, a famous Adirondack hermit. Anne LaBastille also lived a kind of Thoreauvian life in the ADKS, and has written books about it. There are several websites about both of them. Both have an aura of something strange and special. Check out: http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/72015.html
ReplyDeleteWhy would you consider "mastering the art of avoidance and strongly feeling the urge to reject society" a crime? I think you only feel it is a crime because society has conditioned you to feel that living a detached life is unsustainable, unhealthy, and unworthy. It is only unsustainable and unhealthy and unworthy because of the institutions of interpersonal (human) connections, education, etc. that humanity has set up for ourselves. Like you said, you can't live comfortably alone unless you are born into a supportive climate. This makes me sad, but I don't think that you are any more foolish than the rest of us for trying to live on your own according to your own rules away from the general human population. I am a huge proponent of living the life you imagine, and asking the world to cater to you. Some people may call you crazy, but why shouldn't you try? Even though it is romantic, I think that right now, the world constantly needs to learn lessons of boldness and assertiveness by learning from examples of people who are courageous enough to follow their dreams. If they die poor and unloved, it is a reflection of society's warped practices and perspectives. Not all of us would want to trade in love and a comfortable life for trying to attain our dreams though, so we just conform. I think there are reasons for why you want to spend your life contemplating your own existence w/no obligations, and you do know why if you just think about it hard enough and look both within and outside yourself. I think it's completely natural for you to feel this way and means that you have some flickering light still inside of you ;)
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