Rogue Hermit

There's a lot written about how as humans we need to build and maintain a social network. The prevailing wisdom warns that if you do not have one, you will die early and unhappy.

While there is truth in these statements, I also believe this is a place where the internet creates unnecessary anxiety.

The mental health field increasingly pathologizes natural human behaviors. Prefer solitude? There's a diagnosis. Limited social circle? There's a treatment plan. Want to track your social interactions? Naturally, there's an app for that.

Social networks come and go in our life. School provides an automatic network, for better or worse. Work does the same. These institutional settings become our default communities, creating friendships through proximity and shared experience.

As a military brat, I can attest that social networks come and go quickly. Every new base, every new school year meant rebuilding from scratch.

And as a retired professional, I can also attest that after retirement social networks can go very quickly. The professional tribe you've belonged to for decades can vanish overnight, leaving an unexpected void.

But what if we reframed this inevitable solitude not as a loss to be mourned, but as an asset to be cultivated?

My reframe: the rogue hermit.

But first a story. Stay tuned for The Path of the Rogue Hermit.