For Hermits

Here's what Knut says:
You are welcome to your intellectual pastimes and books and art and newspapers; welcome, too, to your bars and your whiskey that only makes me ill. Here am I in the forest, quite content. ~Knut Hamsun (Norwegian Novelist)

After driving in traffic yesterday, going to Jenny's doctor's appointment with her, I like Knut's sentiment. It doesn't take me very long to get VERY comfortable holing up in our house, on my little bit of earth (my forest, I guess) and it rattles my soul to drive around in the middle of all the busyness. I am used to my commute when I am teaching, but now that I am home I do not wish to drive around, paying attention to other drivers, getting caught up in the frenzy. I wish to stay home and simply be. Because we had to sit in a few waiting rooms, I read some magazines I don't usually read and my heart experienced some discouragement as I read about selfish, all about me celebrities and as I looked at show homes in other magazines, I decided that I like blogs MUCH better, because the pictures represent creativity and personal stories - so much more meaningful. I do gain a lot more inspiration from books and magazines than nature, I hate to admit. As far as the whiskey goes, that has never been an inclination of mine, but I think I understand Knut's allusion to simple existence, enjoyed without the help of mood altering substances. Rich instruction lies in nature. We can't really control it, it is often difficult to fully appreciate it, and our compulsion to remain busy and industrious just doesn't lend itself to sitting in the middle of the forest. I think I am a bit of a hermit.
I hope you are able to enjoy "your forest" today and simply be. Thank you for your sweet comments. I delight in them.