# Have you ever met a mute traveler?



## deleted user (Jul 19, 2017)

I suppose I'm just curious to know if there are any others out there.

While I'm not yet a complete mute, I do have a condition that can worsen.

I mostly don't talk because it's easier, or I use a notebook with whiteboard pages.


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## Deleted member 125 (Jul 19, 2017)

you are going to have a EXTREMLY hard time travelling any "unconventional" or even conventional way if you cant/dont speak.


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## deleted user (Jul 19, 2017)

cantcureherpes said:


> you are going to have a EXTREMLY hard time travelling any "unconventional" or even conventional way if you cant/dont speak.



This comment doesn't really do much for my question, but I do appreciate your concerns on the matter. I've been travelling for about three years now, but mostly through intentional communities. It has had its ups-and-downs through different phases of my speaking ability. I think it's easy for someone to say it is hard, from their perspective of using their voice so much. In some ways it is DEFINITELY inconvenient, but for every con there are some pros to not speaking (just like with nearly about anything else). I've found people always kind of adapt though, once the situation is in front of them. It used to be maddening, but now I find it to be an almost zen-like experience in a world full of people with heads full of narratives or whatever piles of justifications are spewing out of them any given day. I've also found it to be a good radar in vetting people, as the highly egoic or neurotic find someone else to bother instead quite rapidly. This is just a few examples that it isn't all bad.

Here's one of the only examples of another mute traveler I've found:







Great book if you ever wanna check it out from a library or order it, by the way. He did another one called The Ragged Edge Of Silence specifically about his 17 year vow of silence. Quite inspiring, though he walked everywhere and wasn't trying to catch rides. I suppose I try to model myself after people like him, but see merit in attempting being around people more. While always be prepared to get out of any car or commune to walk an unknown distance to the next possible thing. It is one of the most free feelings I've found.

And just because something is hard doesn't mean someone should support the cruelties of modern life, capitalism, and the soul-crushing empty friendships built around work schedules or condensed into specific repetitive activities. Whether I was a talker, semi-mute, or completely mute I would never enjoy a four-wall prison held together by my suffering for the gain of others. Plus, well you know, that world left me behind a long while ago.

Are you currently in Virginia? That's neat. We're like 45 minutes apart.


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## Deleted member 125 (Jul 19, 2017)

answering yer question i was going by yer profile info that states you are "thinking about it" when it comes to travelling, making me think you are a green horn looking for advice. 

but you are right, i dont have much input as far as yer question goes. hope you find what yer looking for.


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## deleted user (Jul 20, 2017)

cantcureherpes said:


> answering yer question i was going by yer profile info that states you are "thinking about it" when it comes to travelling, making me think you are a green horn looking for advice.
> 
> but you are right, i dont have much input as far as yer question goes. hope you find what yer looking for.



Technically I've traveled very little in distances--but I've been making my way through ecovillages, egalitarian and anarchist communes for a few years. I imagine compared to the constant new people with questions who haven't left home before, I'm traveling? It seems like a weird status no matter what when I've been fairly stationary several months, but by comparison to people looking into leaving mainstream life, I'm out seeing the world.

Ha -- so maybe I should change that bit of info on my profile...

Thanks for responding, regardless.


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## creature (Jul 20, 2017)

Shadow, hi!!

YES!!!

great kid, too..
things are a bit busy right now, but I'll write it up pretty soon..

he was one of my favorite travelers, and we used a notebook that i keep to this day, as a memento..

I'm not deaf, but super super hard of hearing.. 
i know just a little bit of how the difficulties of communication can affect traveling..

I'll def post up.. good luck!!


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## deleted user (Jul 20, 2017)

creature said:


> Shadow, hi!!
> 
> YES!!!
> 
> ...



Looking forward to your story, Creature.


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## VikingAdventurer (Jul 20, 2017)

Shadow said:


> Looking forward to your story, Creature.



Oh, friend.

@creature is something else. You'd better buckle up, and hold the fuck on for dear life when it comes to Creature & his tales.

He doesn't even HAVE any regular "stories". Everything that comes out of his mouth is an Epic Saga, akin (in my mind) to the Poetic Edda of the ancient Norse.


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## deleted user (Jul 20, 2017)

VikingAdventurer said:


> Oh, friend.
> 
> @creature is something else. You'd better buckle up, and hold the fuck on for dear life when it comes to Creature & his tales.
> 
> He doesn't even HAVE any regular "stories". Everything that comes out of his mouth is an Epic Saga, akin (in my mind) to the Poetic Edda of the ancient Norse.



I've seen a few of their stories around. 

All of them entertaining and high energy thus far.


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## Whereamiwhatdoido (Jul 20, 2017)

Hey there shadow, I've never met anybody who were a completely mute, though I've gone through some months in France where I stopped talking, worked wonders and people really seem to be intrigued by it at times. And if you finally do happen to find yourself in a conversation there's all of a sudden a lot of ears listening. 

Also met this guy, spend 3 or 4 days with him, and I think or longest conversation was me asking 2 questions that he answered. Still don't know his name till this day, awesome guy though.

But anyways kudos your ways, I think silence is a powerful thing to own.


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## Hillbilly Castro (Jul 20, 2017)

I have wondered this myself. Neat thing to think about. I see no reason it could not be done.


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## deleted user (Jul 20, 2017)

Whereamiwhatdoido said:


> Hey there shadow, I've never met anybody who were a completely mute, though I've gone through some months in France where I stopped talking, worked wonders and people really seem to be intrigued by it at times. And if you finally do happen to find yourself in a conversation there's all of a sudden a lot of ears listening.
> 
> Also met this guy, spend 3 or 4 days with him, and I think or longest conversation was me asking 2 questions that he answered. Still don't know his name till this day, awesome guy though.
> 
> But anyways kudos your ways, I think silence is a powerful thing to own.



I imagine people have an inconsistent image of me, as some experience me as a total mute, very quiet, or if around long enough might catch me being talkative. When I was younger in a rough place, I attempted to OD unsuccessfully several times, but mostly managed to induce a form of aphasia. Making it hard to speak words at times, but am able to think them just fine. The part of it being my choice to quit speaking is mostly due to stress and consistency. I prefer the absolution in the eyes of others over the assumption I can speak.

I used to spend a lot of time cooped up by myself, not wanting to get myself into situations to talk. This was especially problematic once I hit the road. I first came out of my shell through practicing two week long vows of silence at a time. While walking decent distances of 5-10 miles a day. I gained an awareness that wasn't quite there before. I noticed all the people or crushes who would talk my ear off, drifted away from my life while being replaced with more centered folks with similarities at our cores over the superficiality of most friendships. It was like some people avoided me, while a few finally took the time to look into my eyes and see me for who I am rather than what I say. There's also a magic to it, like people who usually wouldn't open up to anyone telling me stories while no one was around only because of the fact I couldn't speak. People opening up about just wanting to be touched and how so much of their talking spirals out of them in hopes of receiving some kind of intimacy. I've seen people who seemed to nearly hate me offer a smile my way once I wasn't a cog in the ego machine of their lives. It's like a shortcut into the real, when all the illusions fade away.


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## VikingAdventurer (Jul 21, 2017)

Wow.

All I can say is that I certainly hope you make it to the Jambo.


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## AlwaysLost (Jul 21, 2017)

I think most people probably wish I was mute does that count?


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## deleted user (Jul 21, 2017)

VikingAdventurer said:


> Wow.
> 
> All I can say is that I certainly hope you make it to the Jambo.



It's on my list of possibilities for the next place I end up to network.


AlmostAlwaysLost said:


> I think most people probably wish I was mute does that count?



Only if you finally take their advice!


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## deleted user (Aug 20, 2017)

creature said:


> Shadow, hi!!
> 
> YES!!!
> 
> ...



Still hoping to hear this story if you find the time, @creature


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## creature (Aug 20, 2017)

it's very much on my mind.
haven't forgotten..


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## Deleted member 2626 (Aug 25, 2017)

I've read johns book numerous times. I've never met a mute but I'm trying for a few days of silence myself without speaking verbally. He did and survived. It is kind of weird in public places but I'm far from ever embarrassed so I don't care. I'm not big on talking a lot as it is anymore. For my mental health I have to have solitude where I say a few sentences in a day to my dog and be okay


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## creature (Sep 23, 2017)

@Shadow,

i am sorry this took so long..

it needed a long moment of needing to pay attention to nothing else, because injustice is done to some experiences when they are conveyed merely as a collection of details..

-------------------------- 

O God, i wish i remembered names....

-----------


November (?) 2016..
en route to the Slabs..
the Library..

or was it.. april ?

april... i think april..

heading down to pick up @NatashaVelvet & do some early prep for the Jambo..

april.. maybe even March..

Cold.. cold & full of wind & Grey like the Ocean & Sky are ripping Vengeance
from
Each Other..

heading down CA 1, water thrashing upon all that exists..

Grey
& goddamned fucking cold...

open the window, or step out to piss & the Air assails your warmth, like either hate or love, dragging its chill into your marrow to replace what you are,
with Her..

somewhere above Cambria there is a lighthouse.. a research station..
it is grey..
even the grass is fucking grey --
& the Rain,
Commanding all Light..

i, too, am grey..

& huddling before the grey lock of the grey chain of the grey gate with a grey bike & long, straggling, grey-brown hair is some poor bastard huddled over a basket, struggling in a grey fucking poncho, and looking forlornly towards the lighthouse that the Sea is Threatening...

i pass & wonder.. "is that one a hostel, too?? is he waiting for it to open? does he have a flat? why the FUCK would anyone be stationary in the goddamned open in weather like this???"

i turn around...

cold.. the wind is fucking cold..
... rain, thrown like a nasty child throws gravel against cars..
cold enough to fucking kill you, and that is something that can be said without poetry or cursing...

cold enough
to kill you.

i pull up
& this son of a bitch is dying.

the van is packed..
i have shit going to the library.. chairs, 3 coffee tables.. some kitchen shit.. not to mention my tools, kitchen gear, etc.. i literally cannot stick my head more than perhaps a foot behind my neckrest, if that..

& he is near hypothermia, grey to his fucking bones, almost, and he
begins
Pleading...

O christ...

i thought i was just going to give him help with a flat or some such..

& the Rain is honestly killing Things...

he points at his bike, then points at the van & i say "my van is entirely full.. i don't think we can get your bike in..."

& then... then..he clasps his hands in front of me, points to the van & drops to his knees, soundless...

i am wondering "???" & then he points to his ears & his mouth & shakes his head..

i am like "o shit." & begin a physical assessment of the situation..

he has his bike, his backpack & a basket up front..
the first thing he does is he pulls from the basket a small bundle..
he pulls back the towel around it, and it is a shivering, scared, beautifull little chihuahua..

he places her in the passenger footwell, & we begin figuring things out..

Rain, motherfucker..

sideways, because the Wind is proclaiming what She is, today..

but we have work to do, so fuck her ass...

god, it is cold..
not -50 F, like goddamned fucking north dakota in goddamned fucking january, drying the very water out of your goddamned lungs, but.. like the ocean trying to reach out & drown whatever it can...
or merely becoming more, & by not caring, says *exactly* what she is...
shit the Fishermen have learned to both Love & Curse, but before which we are nearly naked, & of little more substance than the little dog, huddling into her own warmth, finally, sheltered from the terror not only of grey, but against the loss of her puppy..

we fight with the back doors & that is a no-go.. too much shit piled up to enter from the rear, no matter what we pull & push around..

the side door is piled even higher, & we are like idiots on a skiff, trying to pack shit away, merely so we can hold on a bit better, rather than actually answer to my greed to keep this shit...

shove, yank, swear..

we pull off the front wheel...
yes!
the fork goes in.. then the frame!
we are fucking in!!!

there is no heat in the van & she leaks like hell has eaten a hole into her, but we are out of the fucking rain, and on our way...

======== end part 1 ---------

.


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

@creature 

I haven't been on in a bit and didn't receive a notification about this response. I was just about to hop on here and say the wait for this story was like waiting for an unreleased Salinger work or something, and there it was. Thank you for sharing. Quite the introduction!


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

Tatanka said:


> I've read johns book numerous times. I've never met a mute but I'm trying for a few days of silence myself without speaking verbally. He did and survived. It is kind of weird in public places but I'm far from ever embarrassed so I don't care. I'm not big on talking a lot as it is anymore. For my mental health I have to have solitude where I say a few sentences in a day to my dog and be okay



Yeah, even when I do it by choice it is an interesting learning experience. The current community I'm at I've done it by choice for 3-5 days. It is so bizarre to see peoples' reactions. Some people feel miffed or seem to take offense to (or responsibility for) my silence. It makes me feel kind of disillusioned to be among the frontlines of the counter-culture and feel more like a cog in an ego-machine, or some kind of prop to their internal narratives. Disillusioned in the sense, even within these melting pots of change hardly anyone knows how to just be.

And frankly, if people don't possess that freedom and understanding...

What is anyone striving, let alone fighting for?


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## creature (Oct 5, 2017)

a bit more coming..
escaping from ND with my life..
i had to pull the notebook we used out of the beat up cargo carrier.. the rain got it (figures) but it's intact..
should make it ovr the Divide, today,then have a little bit of time to do the next bit..

thanks fer liking it!!


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

creature said:


> a bit more coming..
> escaping from ND with my life..
> i had to pull the notebook we used out of the beat up cargo carrier.. the rain got it (figures) but it's intact..
> should make it ovr the Divide, today,then have a little bit of time to do the next bit..
> ...



Looking forward to it.

Good luck with the escape.


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## Deleted member 2626 (Oct 5, 2017)

I think we'd all learn a lot by shutting up. Myself included. It's too easy just to talk. To say unnecessary shit really. I get to thinking how I judge the society I ditest most days etc and how judgement is harder or negative aspects of life, when quiet. I can't get angry over dumb shit and chance a negative encounter.


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## MamaSow (Oct 5, 2017)

Shadow said:


> This comment doesn't really do much for my question, but I do appreciate your concerns on the matter. I've been travelling for about three years now, but mostly through intentional communities. It has had its ups-and-downs through different phases of my speaking ability. I think it's easy for someone to say it is hard, from their perspective of using their voice so much. In some ways it is DEFINITELY inconvenient, but for every con there are some pros to not speaking (just like with nearly about anything else). I've found people always kind of adapt though, once the situation is in front of them. It used to be maddening, but now I find it to be an almost zen-like experience in a world full of people with heads full of narratives or whatever piles of justifications are spewing out of them any given day. I've also found it to be a good radar in vetting people, as the highly egoic or neurotic find someone else to bother instead quite rapidly. This is just a few examples that it isn't all bad.
> 
> Here's one of the only examples of another mute traveler I've found:
> 
> ...



Thank you for this post. I appreciate and support your experience and perspectives.

I didn't know about these two books and just ordered them. 

One of the reasons that I travel solo is because of my need for deep solitude and silence. I'm more hermit than anything. 

The road is the place where we meet who we truly are, without the judgements or reflections of others. It is the true finding one's way home.

Be you, as you are. I'll be over here being me, in solidarity.


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

MamaSow said:


> Thank you for this post. I appreciate and support your experience and perspectives.
> 
> I didn't know about these two books and just ordered them.
> 
> ...



this, to an extent. solidarity can easily form into unity, under the right circumstances.


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## MamaSow (Oct 5, 2017)

moonwalker said:


> this, to an extent. solidarity can easily form into unity, under the right circumstances.



What do you mean by "to an extent"? I would welcome your perspective and experience on all this, if you feel up to sharing it that is.


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

MamaSow said:


> What do you mean by "to an extent"? I would welcome your perspective and experience on all this, if you feel up to sharing it that is.


of course.

so, I meant to express the idea of solitude being wholesome for many of us, although leaving open the possibility of a group, or couple, of vagabonds who can understand that solitude is accessible even without being alone.

I tend to look back at the few I've traveled with and find the most pleasant experience was the one where my road dog and I conversed when we felt the need, rather than with others, who incessantly talk.

so, I'm not sure I'm explaining my point very well, but I hope this helps.


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

in fact, let me get a better explanation.

there are people that are worth traveling with, because the solitude of one can become the unity of two (or more). it's very dependent on who is involved.


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## MamaSow (Oct 5, 2017)

moonwalker said:


> in fact, let me get a better explanation.
> 
> there are people that are worth traveling with, because the solitude of one can become the unity of two (or more). it's very dependent on who is involved.



I follow you and feel you. Thank you for taking the time (and effort) to put this into words.

The distinction between solitude and silence is crucial I think. Most of us don't get good silence without solitude. Yet this unity among/with others, in the silence, is truly the heart of the matter. 

Grateful for your sharing. I am with you on this.


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## deleted user (Oct 5, 2017)

MamaSow said:


> I follow you and feel you. Thank you for taking the time (and effort) to put this into words.
> 
> The distinction between solitude and silence is crucial I think. Most of us don't get good silence without solitude. Yet this unity among/with others, in the silence, is truly the heart of the matter.
> 
> Grateful for your sharing. I am with you on this.


thank you, I was afraid I may not have been very clear, or perhaps was just completely out of my element.


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## MamaSow (Oct 5, 2017)

moonwalker said:


> thank you, I was afraid I may not have been very clear, or perhaps was just completely out of my element.



Nah. I feel you.


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## deleted user (Oct 7, 2017)

moonwalker said:


> in fact, let me get a better explanation.
> 
> there are people that are worth traveling with, because the solitude of one can become the unity of two (or more). it's very dependent on who is involved.



<3


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## creature (Dec 4, 2017)

So.. we bicycle into the front seat..





Actually much darker than that, but the front wheel scrunched against my leg & a fellow at least 6' tall crammed into the margin between his basket & the seat..







the van full of shit being transported..

a large, wet haired Deaf-Mute, shivering from the cold & a teeny, tiny little Chihuahua hunkered down in the foot well..

& we proceed...






poor Pepper..


I don't know how much more there is to say, really, except that I think I learned something about myself..

I’ve worried that someday my hearing will go completely, but this guy was doing fine..

super encouraging..


hell.. we even did some diagnostics...






I'm having some problems uploading images, since the service & tether are crappy, but suffice it to say that the next day was sunny, & I dropped him off in Ventura..

the actual conversation went on for however many hours we cruised together & stopped along the way, but there were at least 20 pages that we wrote..

i keep the pages with me in my collection of treasured mementos..

The really nice thing for me was not only how surprisingly rapidly we were able to speak, but that by writing we conveyed more meaning than simply than by yammering, if only because a little more thought makes a huge amount of difference..

anyways..

just following up..

def a good experience, & i hope he's doing well, still..


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## creature (Dec 4, 2017)

i hope the images uploaded...


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## deleted user (Dec 4, 2017)

Thanks for the story, @creature.

Wonder how they are doing as well.


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## XlilyX (Dec 4, 2017)

That's pretty beautiful in a way


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## Hazardoussix6six (Dec 7, 2017)

I met a kid in Denver this year, we didn't have any problem communicating, well except for the normal drunkness on my own part. Kid got around easy and was actually really funny, had the best people watching comments. can't remember his name for the life of me though


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## deleted user (Dec 7, 2017)

Hazardoussix6six said:


> I met a kid in Denver this year, we didn't have any problem communicating, well except for the normal drunkness on my own part. Kid got around easy and was actually really funny, had the best people watching comments. can't remember his name for the life of me though



That's cool.

I feel like I get around better not talking. It's pretty easy to communicate simple things without speech, and there's so much fakeness in the day-to-day I don't have to participate in. It's almost like everyone is a product and constantly trying to sell themselves most of the time, when perceiving it through silence. 

I always thought it'd be interesting if I ended up with a non-verbal person to travel with.


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