There are people who in their lives reach the point where they begin to want to become hermits, to start living in the bosom of nature, to get away from the problems and hardships of the surrounding urban world, dirt and bustle. Their inner voice and intuition suggest that becoming a hermit is the most correct decision for later life.
Once upon a time such thoughts also visited me (in 2010-12), but now I look at this problem with completely different eyes. I have already gained some experience and knowledge in this matter, I have already three attempts to move into the wilderness and start living as a hermit, I also have extensive experience of communicating with such people. Actually, this resource is Free-Will! and was created from the very beginning, proceeding from these considerations, as an auxiliary base for this kind of moving, leaving. Only now I have expanded the thematic base. And my views have changed a bit. Not to say that I changed my mind drastically, but having acquired some knowledge, I moved to a new level and, I'm not afraid of this word, became wiser, like many of my colleagues, with whom we once planned such a move.
I have not changed my mind at all, and in this article I am not going to dissuade anyone from this venture, I just want to share my best practices and thoughts, as well as the experience of other people, so that the person who came to this page, making searches on the topic "how to become a hermit", could find what he needed here and could possibly avoid many mistakes.
So, let's formulate a classic situation in which a young man made a decision to go into hermits, to start a new life. Many guys write to me who want to live as hermits, they ask various questions. The questions are the same and quite logical, they are asked by all young guys who have just come to the realization and the need for this. Let's take a look at all these questions and nuances.
I WANT TO LEAVE INTO A DUMMY TAIGA, WHERE THERE WILL NOT A SINGLE SOUL BEING FOR MANY KILOMETERS
If not all, then very many ask such a question, or rather, set themselves such a goal. In fact, this is a losing option in advance, doomed to failure. But being in the first stages of preparation for life as a hermit, it is almost impossible to understand. This judgment comes as a result of maximalism and a strong desire to move as far as possible from the source of irritation, that is, the urban environment, agglomeration. This is due to the strong feelings that the young man is experiencing. The principle is: "I'm so sick of all this already that I want to leave this all to the ends of the world!"
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The end of the world does not mean the Moon and Pluto (because it is cold there), but the more or less accessible region of the Planet. This is either an uninhabited island, and necessarily the most distant one (for example, Caroline Atoll), or a deaf, dense taiga, where almost no human foot has stepped and, being lost there, you can be found in the form of a fossil in ten thousand years.
This is the whole point. Being at this stage, a young man aged 17-23 does not yet know that this desire in his head is formed by the endocrine system of his body, hormones and neurotransmitters that hit his brain like a hammer on an anvil, and make him act, think, solve this problem. But the fact is that if it were not for this message, the hormones would pull this young guy in the other direction. And the foundation lies in the objective reasons for which it is really worth leaving the city.
Therefore, an attempt to go to the extreme is a mistake, that is, an attempt to go into the taiga, no one knows where. As practice shows, such attempts never brought to good - the departed person always came back or approached the issue differently, settling in the nearest village on a legal basis. And the whole point is that initially a city person is not adapted to such a life. You need to be born and spend your whole life in the taiga in order to feel good there. It also takes a lot of time, starting with small and increasing gradually, to spend in the taiga to get used to it well. You need to have both physical and psychological attachment to the forest. Do not discount the psychological state with any other superiority of yours, good equipment and good physical shape,because your performance can smash to smithereens your psychological state, as well as apathy and depression that can arise in such an atmosphere - when your hands drop by themselves, and you really do not see the reason for any activity. By the way, this can also be the reason for the use of alcohol in this kind of people, when in a state of complete melancholy and apathy a person finds solace in alcohol. This is a very serious factor!
In addition to the psychological factor, the deep taiga necessitates large labor costs, enormous labor and physical work: constant felling of trees, working with wood, obtaining food and much more. All this is very, very difficult, even with some experience and equipment, it is not at all a fact that you will be full today, and the whole next week too.
Simply put, going really into wild conditions, a person creates such monstrous stress and stress for himself that he sometimes starts to go crazy, sometimes even literally. Then one begins to remember the old comfort, dryness and warmth of a small apartment in a residential area, all the benefits of civilization, which are much easier than in a remote taiga. And in the wilderness, consciousness is occupied only with providing the comfort necessary for normal life. The body is in extreme conditions and works to its fullest. A person does not gorge himself on (rationed for each meal) food, since the metabolism is accelerated and the body consumes an order of magnitude more energy. Does not sleep well at night, getting up early in the morning from cold and moisture. As a result, cold, hungry, a little nutty, swearing at every bitch - he decides to go back. And at this moment he completely abandons his previous thoughts, realizing the mistake, in his head the question: "How could I have not thought of this before, after all these are such obvious things ?!" He really begins to understand that this is of no use to him.
And the whole point is that the decision to go into the wilderness was taken by a person, proceeding from the activity of the hormonal system, in other words, he thought not logically, but relied only on emotions and his "wishes". I thought "not with my head", but with emotions. And it was not for nothing that I said about age, because at this age a person already has a very high hormonal background, this is the age of our mistakes, and at this age, as a rule, a person comes to such thoughts.
Also, it was not for nothing that I said about the foundation, since there really are reasons why you can really leave a big city, otherwise this site would not exist. The reasons are more than appropriate, but one should approach everything with a cool head, without emotions. Thinking over all this logically, analyzing, relying on the experience and advice of senior people. Therefore, it is emotions that drive this person out of the wilderness, because initially he relied on emotions, and not on logic. But if you immediately think logically, approach the issue with a sober head, then you will take completely different actions.
AGE DOES MATTER
Why did I decide that? Because at the age of up to 25, or even up to 30 people are in their peak. As soon as its growth and physiological changes stop, its hormonal background is very large, but with age it subsides, and hormones and unnecessary emotions no longer affect the adoption of informed decisions. Therefore, to be precise, I would generally recommend doing this only after 50 years. Because knowing all the famous hermits, I can say that people become hermits most often around the age of 50. There are many potential hermits who try to leave at 25, 30, 35 years old, but most of them return after a short period of time. This does not mean that they changed their minds, they just decided to change their desires and wishes, introduced changes to them.
The hermit Filippich.
If we talk about the age of 18 and so, then this option is almost 100% doomed to failure. At best, a young man will simply calmly return back to the broken trough, at worst - he will be fatal, and it can be either natural death or lethal outcome as a result of an accident, or voluntary departure from life due to the strongest moral shock and awareness that "the world collapsed in front of me."
Hermit V. Shalonov.
Therefore, in order not to make mistakes that many such people have already made, you need to use the following my recommendations:
- be patient up to 25-30 years, depending on your mindset, temperament, etc.;
- devote your life to preparing for a future resettlement attempt, going on hikes, studying materials, reading books, communicating with experienced people, trying small exits to the forest, both alone and with a team, while not just "on barbecue", but to put what -That specific goals: learning survival skills in the wild, making fires, making huts, shelters, getting food, etc.;
- try to look for like-minded people, hone the accumulated material with them, think over plans, study the regions. It is important that you can find as much information as possible on your own, in your own way, with your searches, and not read such articles on the Internet;
- save money for a further trip, while purchasing the necessary equipment, trying equipment in the field;
Here are the basic tips for those who have decided to become a hermit, but have not yet gone far in their training.
FAMILY, WIFE, CHILDREN
On this point, all people can be divided into two categories: those who are not yet married and have no children, and those who are already married (or divorced) and have children (or were simply married without children). Let's start with the second one. These are, as a rule, men with an average age of 30-45 years. They already have a bad marriage experience, and, completely disappointed in this, they no longer want to go there under any circumstances. There may be many reasons, but in most cases they blame their wives here that those vipers drank a lot of their blood and they don't want this anymore, equating all other women on the planet with their "vipers". Yes, these men certainly made a big mistake by marrying unworthy women. But the fact is that they themselves are very much to blame for this, since no one forced them to marry anyone, and I am convinced that they will marry, relying only on the impulse of falling in love,desires and emotions. Or "in flight", as they say. But if they immediately approached this issue with a cool head and without emotion, they would be able to avoid such problems. They would simply bypass such women, not succumb to provocations using their appearance, charisma and charm. Would choose a suitable pair - and live happily ever after.
Vipers and shrews in our society of matriarchy is full, so it is difficult to choose the right life partner. That is, these men just did another stupid thing, were frivolous about the issue, in the end they got what they got … And the children are now forced to grow up without a father. Therefore, because of this frivolous behavior, the man himself suffered (as evidenced by the gray hair on his head) and his children suffered, who had not yet had time to do wrong before him … Now, leaving for a hermit, seemingly with a cold head and already without emotions, they are sincerely convinced that marriage is evil and not at all what they want. But they themselves are to blame in the same way as an 18-year-old boy is to blame, who went to the remote taiga of the Far East or Siberia and came back with burdock on his trousers and his hands crushed with blood. Emotions and a frivolous approach are our worst enemies when making any decision!
Now the second option, or rather the first: young guys who have not yet been married. Dreaming of becoming a hermit, at the age of 18 they are firmly convinced that a wife and children are certainly not for them! Such a judgment is based on very objective factors, such as the lack of suitable girls who would agree to give up their comfortable life in a metropolis and leave with their sweetheart to live in a hut in which there should be paradise … Mercantile and calculating females try to find such a partner who can to provide all their needs and will be "carried in their arms", which does not impress guys who want to go to hermits. Such guys do not want to be someone's henpecked and fulfill all the whims of their "queens" and "princesses". Therefore, disappointed in the girls, they spit on this business, and no longer clog their heads.
Belarusian hermits.
Judge for yourself, what is important for you: to go into a remote and impassable wilderness, or just leave the city and change your conditions from urban to conditions close to the wild? That is, the very fact of being in the middle of nowhere is important to you, or is life outside the city in clean air, healthy food, clean water and all that? In my opinion, the answer is obvious! Of course, this is the second option - life outside the city, in natural conditions. But you don't have to go into the wilderness, where there is not a single living soul. For this there are villages, for example, half-abandoned or just small. There are a lot of such villages on the territory of the Russian Federation, in any region.
And it is much easier to persuade your woman to go to live in the village than just somewhere in the taiga. Well, if it is so attracted by the romance and aesthetics of taiga life, then you and your wife can always set up a small winter hut in the taiga, in the area of your village and go there, as if you were going to a dacha. That is, to live in a village, in a good-quality hut, but to have a small catch in the taiga, where no one except you (well, a couple of hunters) goes. So much for romance - and everyone is happy, and no emotions, but a simple, pragmatic approach with a cool head …
SUMMING UP
- If you are a hermit and you are about 18 years old, then wait at first 25-30 years of age and only then leave, since by this age your hormonal background will slowly subside and you will be able to make adequate decisions with a cool head, without emotions (more - less, I mean). In general, it is better to endure up to 40-50 years if you want to go alone.
- If you are going to become a hermit and go into the woods alone, then I would recommend that you buy a plot in a remote village, or just take one abandoned by self-capture. Land in such places costs a penny, you can buy it through an auction in the village administration, or simply take an abandoned house by self-occupation, if the village is completely deaf. And try to live there. Taiga is always nearby, and you will not need to build a new winter hut. If taiga beckons, then you can rent a piece of taiga from the state (if it does not belong to anyone) and organize your own lands there, you can breed animals and organize a hunting farm, for example, or sell a forest.
- If you think starting a family is not for you, then re-read this article and think carefully. Try to compromise and look for an option that works for both of you (you and your wife). You should not rush to extremes and try to get into the wildest wilderness, sort out your thoughts and decide for yourself what is more important to you: to live in a deep taiga or just to live outside the city in nature?
- Prepare for hermitage, study the material, go hiking, read books, communicate with experienced people: hunters, foresters, etc.
- Don't let thoughts of emotional impulse take over. Whenever an idea comes to your mind, wait for the emotion to pass and think over everything thoroughly with a sober head, sort out all the pros and cons and make a conclusion, resolve this issue with your like-minded people, for example, on the forum of this site.
Author: Oleg Prikhodko