I had a comically bad day yesterday, like dropping things, almost lost my keys down the drain on the sidewalk, spilled soup at the store near a makeup section, almost tore my pants, got back from the store only to find out I was out of TP, etc.
It was more funny than anything else, like so much random trivial bad luck in one day is like something out of some 90s Tom Hanks comedy.
But there was one thing that actually annoyed me - on my way back from the store on my grocery trip, my phone suddenly went from a healthy 7% to 0% and died. I was stuck with no music for the remainder of the walk back.
Soooo I was forced to listen to the sound of well - nothing at all basically.
Just birds chirping, wind blowing, leaves rustling, all as I walked the same path I walk all the time and see the same things I’ve seen hundreds of times, just waiting to get home.
Don’t get me wrong I love where I live and everything, it’s a really cool city with good pedestrian infrastructure, I almost never even get close to a car and it’s not some smelly euro village either, but seeing the same things I’ve already seen and having no stimuli at all, it wasn’t that big a deal but it was unpleasant.
That got me thinking - I sometimes see folks not wearing earphones outside, and I’ve heard on more than one occasion from some acquaintances that they don’t listen to music outside, and I wonder - why’s that?
Why would you choose to do that?
And, what do y’all like, do, exactly? How do you deal with the monotony of your grocery trips or things like that when you don’t even have music on? Do you just never get bored of walking the same roads/neighborhoods w/e day after day?
If there’s nothing interesting to look at, I just continue the plot of the story I’m telling myself. Some people just enjoy a meditative silence, but I’m not one of them, either. I might look like it though.
I like music, love music, keep it on in the house and car but do not like headphones and wouldn’t dare use them on a walk or run because I’d get run over by a car.
I like the sound of the city, the birds singing, the crows cawing, kids yelling, even the distant sirens and LOVE the distant music of parties, so much. Cars going by with music. Incidental sound is engaging IMO not boring.
Yeah if being runover was a concern I’d definitely also not listen to music for sure.
I do actually like those sounds as well, just not every day on my way out for chores obviously.
It’s interesting how some people by way of their responses seem to suggest “a walk” and “a run” are something special a unique, and not their main and only way of getting around, probably as a result of car-centric design of some places and zoning laws?
I take it that’s the case for you as well, because of how you phrased “a walk or a run”? I’ve personally never gone for “a run” as an adult, but I rack up thousands of steps daily just getting my groceries home so I can eat food.
I bike to work and walk to anything close (have electric bike so that is my 1-6 mile ride usually, and under a mile I use my feet.). Also go for a Pokemon Go walk often, not to go anywhere. Or walk the dogs if husband can’t. A Run though, that I only do for exercise, and not if I can avoid it.
Car, I have one but my kid takes it to university so I don’t usually get to drive it. And I do prefer moving at a human pace, and not having to park the car.
ETA you asked about car-centric and yes oh yes my city is exactly that. Which is why I worry about getting run over.
And another add - I do kind of get where you are coming from - I can’t let go of thinking without enough to focus on but not too much. That is why I loved Jazzercise, not kidding. Exactly the right amount of paying attention that I could achieve “flow” and just dance, following so I didn’t have to think, not so complex I had to think, but complex enough I didn’t think about anything else. Running was SO boring. Real dance class too complex. Going out to dance, have to decide how to move. But to stop thinking here while moving around town is hazardous as fuck.
Enjoy the world around me. Using the extra sensory input to avoid being run over by cars.
Do you ever spend even a second with your own thoughts?
Outside? I try not to go there.
Interestingly enough, I’ve been suspecting I am on some sort of spectrum, but I typically feel like you do. Like I need to be listening to something when going for a walk because walking itself is inherently a boring activity.
But there have been certain days where I feel entirely different. I’m less in my head and more out of it, soak in my environment more, pay more attention to my posture, the way I’m stepping with my feet, the sounds around me, etc. And it’s not me forcing it either, I just feel genuinely more interested in that stuff.
I’ve been told I live in the future a lot, but on those days, I feel “normal”. Like, I’m more interested in and living in the present, instead of daydreaming all the time.
Not my place to say, so please take my comment with a grain of salt:
IMO, If you are avoiding living in the present, it might be important to define the emotion behind why. It could be a sign that you need sorta big changes in your life.
Really? What emotion have I been feeling since the age of like, 5, up to the age of 30?
Lol he’s not avoiding living in the present, neither are we, take your armchair psychologist crap outta here. It’s you who’s so simple you’re okay with bored contentment. It’s no wonder you people get hijacked by algos so easily, shit is hardly exciting to me because I cherish and nourish my life.
I’ve got a layer of conscious that constantly plays music in the background of my mind…personal private organic music machine.
There’s a passage in the book Fahrenheit 451 where the author talks about people keeping themselves distracted with music 24/7. Instead of listening respectfully to great music with great attention, they listen to silly songs.
Also, I remember all the stories I’ve read about people who were mugged because they weren’t paying attention.
This resonates with me. If I’m listening to music, I want to do it with intention. Pop music is made to be background noise in an already noisy environment. Just sit down and listen for a change. The whole album. Used to be that artists wrote with a theme in mind; now they write to be the next TikTok viral song.
Someone downvoted you, which is ridiculous.
I respect your opinion.
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Da hell? I’m not lonely or depressed, are you nuts?
Carrying grocery bags to and from my flat isn’t “appreciating the moment”, I do this every other day, it’s just boring and routine so I throw some music on to keep it fun and so I can do something more proactive mentally rather than just stare off towards my feet or surroundings I literally always see anyway.
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I created this post on the toilet while I was taking a dump at work.
It’s a random thought that occurred to me. It’s not an issue and it’s not big and I don’t have an “issue” or any fucking “issues”, and it’s fucking insulting for you to insinuate anything of the sort.
Meditate on that you condescending prick.
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Already have, I found it’s well managed when it’s directed at assorted internet morons setting new records in retarded shit they say.
It’s not so much anger though, more like disappointment. Do better.
you took the time to create a whole post about this and answer every other stranger’s comment.
OP’s not here for an answer. They’re here for an argument. That’s why they’re replying to everyone to disagree.
Or maybe I just disagree with the insane amount of judgement and projection aimed at me in this thread for no fucking reason at all, after posting about something fairly common and uncontroversial, therefore I am replying with what I think.
Some of us are actually intellectually honest, we agree with the ideas we agree with and disagree with the ideas we disagree with, not everything is motivated by some animalistic desire for an argument like you seem to imply.
I’d much prefer to agree with likeminded folks or hear some well-reasoned perspectives but alas, I’m not going to agree with shit takes parroting LLM pop-psych influencer buzzword bullshit about muh stimulation muh technology in a condescending tone like I have a problem - when i never implied the opposite even though I easily could have done so and would have if I really wanted a fight - (and I would’ve made an art of it, too).
I will keep replying and stating my point and my case no matter how many cookie cutter morons yap about “meditation” or w/e else comes out their monkey-ass cranium.
I fundamentally don’t care about any of this, but I will keep replying because I want folks here scrolling by this thread - horrified by the behaviour of the commentariat swarm - wondering what they must have smoked that people parrot pop-psych bullshit about dopamine as if it were gospel and hold up their life in a Christian heaven/hell dichotomy like a 50s housewife all clued up on what’s the trendy oppressive shit to spew.
I want those folks to know that the hivemind is frail and weak and cannot stand the smallest challenge, challenge that I pose purely by existing and just saying the inoffensive and largely uncontroversial IRL things I think in a calm manner and that they are not alone in being reasonable and rational and normal people still exist out there in the world, I’m just sorry they have to read through the rest of this thought toilet of a comments section.
Thank you for proving my point.
How have I proven your point? Did you even read what I wrote? Or is that too much to ask from your buzzword spouting ass?
You’re still here five days later trying to provoke an argument. You’re proving it over and over again.
I’m sorry you’re so stressed and frustrated that you feel the need to get online and fight with someone. Have you considered unplugging for a while and going for a peaceful walk?
It feels like satire to actually say you cannot imagine life without constantly listening to music. Is it satire?
Right? Like, I don’t know maybe try experiencing your surroundings.
Obviously I do, I don’t get why you spun what I said into hyperbole. But what do you do after you’ve experienced the surroundings, and now have to experience them again, and again, and again?
Honestly y’all must be kinda boring people if you’re happy just staring off into nothingness doing nothing at all, just left foot right foot like some kinda robot to and fro on the daily.
My own thoughts and inspirations come to me most often in the quiet times. I like saying hello to the birds. If I feel exhausted, I count my footsteps like you would music. 1234, 2234, 3234, 4234, and so on. I like hearing the winds, the trees crack as they sway, the squirrels hunting their forage. I listen out for other voices, and enjoy feeling connected to the rest of the world, a desire driven by isolation and loneliness, rarely do I find that sense of community in a podcast. The old man who walks my neighborhood every morning, does not have in headphones, he waves and smiles to every passerby, sometimes, his simple gesture, is the only kind/happy moment of my day.
People are different, it may be boring for you, but my ADD keeps my brain busy, and my CPTSD has me want to hear my surroundings vividly. I jump scare very easily, to avoid that, I use the power of, hearing one coming. I know I’m boring, but I don’t think it’s because I don’t listen to stuff while walking. Nothingness carries something within it, the interpretation only being found by the self. And to note, when I was younger I always had music. Things have just changed with age, it’s shocking I know, but as time moves, I want to slow it down, and appreciate everything I can. I crave quiet more than ever.
My husband is completely different, and more like you, where he spends most of his waking hours listening to podcasts and such. People are different, and that doesn’t make one better than the other.
You don’t have to tear others down, to make yourself feel better. I could call you a robot (hypothetically, I’m not, do you) for putting in your headphones like everyone else does. I’m on our states University campus kind of often. The amount of young people with headphones in, eye on screens, even as they get their meals or cross the street, is very odd to see for me. It honestly feels a bit like culture shock everytime I am up there. They walk into staff without looking or apologizing, and if you people watch for an hour or so, you’ll notice the majority plug themselves in. While I don’t think one is better than the other, it’s just different process. I find it amusing you call the ones who unplug robots however. We used to clown of people who had Bluetooth ear pieces in the early 00’s, it was the universal sign someone was a douche. Now everyone has airpods and the like. White socks, white shoes, white earbuds, head down in screen, it’s the standard look at the university by me.
It’s just amusing to see how things have changed in 25 years, from bluetooth sales douches, to today being called a robot for not plugging in, and instead paying attention to one’s environment out and about.
I agree with basically everything you said, but let’s be real - I’m not the one doing the tearing down ITT.
Don’t listen to them. I have severe adhd. Like they have me in training videos back when I was a kid.
I spend all day everyday with an earbud in my ear. I don’t really like music so it’s podcasts all day everyday.
You can absolutely experience life fully like this. I walk more than anyone I know. I can point out stars in the sky and how the andromeda galaxy would look in the sky. I watch birds, I walk on the beach every night.
And other times I just let my mind wonder wherever it goes. I think about my day, the people I care about, how I can do more and better.
I do it all with an earbud in my ear. Only one, but always one.
Don’t let people tell you how to live.
Yeah I have ADHD too, professionally diagnosed and medicated, but even all the NTs I know don’t just drool off into nothingness, this thread is eye-opening honestly.
It’s not drooling off no more than you’re spacing out in music. It’s just life.
Life is active thought. I don’t space out to music at all, I don’t “space out” period, I stay engaged actively with the world.
My point exactly. When I’m listening to a podcast I’m also 100 percent in the moment. The problem is I’m normally 150 percent of chaos. The podcast bring me down to an enjoyable normal level
I like day dreaming, talking to people I bump into while I’m about, hearing the buzz of people in a pub garden, the music playing in people’s cars as they drive past. I like these things, it makes me feel connected to the place I live. It’s also good to just let your mind wander without constant stimulation.
I absolutely daydream and let my mind wander. That is precisely why I listen to music. Obviously the brain requires stimulation, or we wouldn’t have a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry and the arts nor science nor literature nor much of anything really.
I personally would derive no stimulation from hearing what racist crap some grampa is shouting down at the pub, nor talking to some random about nothing with whom I have nothing in common.
You can’t say with certainty that you’d derive no stimulation from that, since you have not tried deriving stimulation from it.
The multi-billion dollar entertainment industry isn’t there because we need it. It’s there because we like it. What we need is to connect with the real world, which is a skill, and as such requires practice.
Why do you assume I haven’t? Of course I have. I enjoy listening to the sounds of an environment, once, twice, thrice, just not 500 times over and over and over.
I don’t need to connect to the real world, I’m more connected to it than I’d like. I prefer the entertainment industry because it stimulates intelligent thought, and judging by the level of intelligence ITT, y’all need it more than I do.
The Stoics would say you actually shouldn’t seek constant mental stimulation, because letting your brain just “be”, and sitting with boredom, is actually incredibly beneficial for creativity and personal growth. I do have to ask though, as what you’re describing is so relatable and I used to be the same way as you until I taught myself to let my brain relax; is it possible you have ADHD?
The stoics are morons mostly. Yes I have ADHD, and I’m fully medicated for it, thanks.
No? Lolwut. I don’t constantly listen to music. I mostly listen to it when outside when I’m on a grocery store walk, because there isn’t really anything else to do except walk to the store and walk back
Really focusing on the wrong thing here. I hope this is satire
So are you gonna explain your point or just keep feigning shock at what is fairly normal and common IRL?
I’m starting to think you must not go outside very much, because when I look around, people who don’t have earphones in are very much the exception, they stand out, hence the question, and on a personal level I honestly don’t even know any people IRL who just march on alone without music or like some podcast or audiobook or something.
My girlfriend does this, all my friends do this, the only people who do not do this are usually some older people with kids when they’re out with their kids, but then again they’re not really on their own, and obviously I wouldn’t listen to music on a walk if I was with somebody for that walk like on the weekends etc.
I didn’t think I needed to explain that talking about experiencing reality as though it were a burden is…odd. Even if half the thread weren’t saying that specifically.
I use headphones a lot, too much, but I would probably seek therapy if I ever had my headphones stop working and subsequently thought hearing the natural sounds of the world around me was notable enough to talk about negatively.
When there’s no novelty of course it’s a burden lol, staring off into things I already have seen and know is not exactly intellectually stimulating or enjoyable.
And idk, it’s not odd at all, we humans have put massive amounts of time and resources into entertainment for this very purpose, the vast majority of people don’t enjoy staring off into nothing till their eyes unfocus, only the extremely online people think that’s what people want.
Like I said elsewhere, the few people who do not have earphones in going about their chores stand out, they are very much in the minority, and they are few and far between and I don’t know a single person like that IRL.
Were this not the case, we wouldn’t even have entertainment, nevermind billions of dollars spent on movies, shows, albums, fiction and non-fiction books, newspapers etc.
Heck I’d go as far as to say that all religion, science and philosophy that did not serve immediate purpose of finding the next meal was created so we could better our lot - which inherently is maximizing happiness, and that inherently includes intellectual stimulation and fulfillment.
I prefer to keep my brain going all the time if I can, it feels much better, always engaging with new art or new ideas inner and outer alike.
This is really, really sad. If this had always been the case, most of the world’s inventions and art, including entertainment, wouldn’t exist today. It’s objectively a fact that people need to be bored/idle to be at their most creative.
You really think artists don’t also consume art? Heck, what inspired me to make music is listening to music.
Also, I do like your misuse of the word “objectively” and “fact”.
No, that’s not true at all. Proneness to boredom is actually a predictor of negative mental health outcomes: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691930217X
Don’t tell this person about the times before the ubiquity of iPods (and later, phones).
OP, might I suggest a “music” detox? Spend a month without the need for headphone delivered dopamine.
Why would I ever do a “music” detox? Why is “music” in quotes? What else would I be listening to?
And what would I do such a thing for?
Turn my grocery shopping into a drag instead of a moment to enjoy and kind of a highlight of the day at times?
/boggle
I don’t require constant stimulation.
I do, but the leaves rustling and birds chirping provides it for me. OP describing that as a bad thing is what boggles me.
I like it too, but obviously it gets a bit boring in the same area after the 5th through to the 365th time
I take one of two routes for an evening walk almost every day. It’s never occurred to me to listen to music or anything else while I do.
I live in a rural area with nice scenery. If you pay attention, it is different every day. Something new is starting to grow/bloom/die back, new birds have arrived or departed, the clouds are different, the air feels different, neighbors sheep are being silly in a different way.
I go specifically at sunset, so I find that very stimulating and no two sunsets are the same. I think about my day, my plans, goals, etc. It’s peaceful.
That’s crazy, I would go nuts from the monotony of something like that.
I don’t live rurally and I love it, I have nice scenery as well, and I notice all the same things and think about all the same things just like you, but keeping one of my senses busied and tied down is important to facilitate mindfulness, not the opposite.
It is interesting to hear your unique and unusual perspective though.
I’m sure you have a bunch of songs you don’t mind hearing over and over, so it’s not that different to enjoy your environment even if it’s mostly the same every day.
Yeah there’s always a limit for me though, once every ounce of dopamine has been extracted from the song/environment, it’s kinda over. Eventually it becomes nostalgic and returns, briefly.
Did you play Dark Age of Camelot?
Also, I require constant stimulation.
thinking about stuff (what to eat later, what to do later, etc), chatting with a friend/family member, looking around to see what’s happening (construction, birds doing bird things, plants changing shape/size/color, etc), reading, or humming to a song you know (you don’t need your phone to enjoy music!)
I mean, I do all of those too, (except the humming because that’s pretty weird to do in public), while also listening to music.
if not humming, then listening to music in your mind!
Oh yeah for sure, and I do do that as well, you never know what kind of melody will pop in, but most of the time, when I’m walking to the store it’s not exactly inspirational or got me feeling creative anyway.
For me - creativity requires initial stimulus. Some boredom is good, but too much and it’s depressing, and induces anhedonia. A right level of adventure is perfect. Walk to the store, not exactly an adventure. But the mind can travel. Will it be this today, or something more like this, maybe a bit of this or like that or maybe something older or totally out of the leftfield.
The possibilities are endless.
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I don’t “struggle”, it’s just a bit annoying.
I literally said in the OP that it’s obviously not a big deal.
This reads like satire but I assume you’re being serious.
I’m not really doing anything instead. I’m listening in both cases - only the what I’m listening to changes. Listening to music - or podcasts in my case - is a bit of an distraction. I don’t want to be distracted all the time. I’m more present when I’m listening to the world instead, and it gives more space for my thoughts. I never even have the radio on in my car because to me, driving is almost a meditative experience and I like to just sit there in relative silence and focus on the driving itself. I’m stimulated one way or another for the vast majority of the day anyway. I think it’s good to have these intentional moments built into your daily routine where you let yourself be bored. It’s good for you.
That’s interesting, for me music helps me focus, otherwise I just end up endlessly distracted and completely away from the world.
Obviously I understand the point about boredom and am aware of it, only the most brainrotten people think boredom isnt good for you, but I am still bored when walking, out of all the senses, only my ears are occupied, almost everything else is kind of an autopilot, like in those studies where people who drive down the same roads for decades end up being dangerous because their brain is no longer actively processing their surroundings.
For me it’s more like music is a way to direct my thoughts or to set a tone for them. Maybe I’d like to think about something nostalgic, or something new, and music sets the tone and tunes out distractions in the world so I can stay cognitively engaged.
otherwise I just end up endlessly distracted and completely away from the world.
Can you dig more into what you mean by that? I assume you mean distracted by your thoughts, rather than the world itself.
No, distracted by the world, away from my thoughts on the world.
When I pick my music, I set a tone and vibe of the mental journey while my body autopilots to the store and back, then everything else - inner ambitions, dreams, ideas, thoughts, observations immediate and past etc. slots in.
Edit: downvoted for a literal description of my life lol.
Weird how you’re getting shit on for asking a question in “no stupid questions.” Fucking NT people acting high and mighty.
Aye
We all know what’s really going on ITT.
Ableism and then acting like we’re the assholes for defending ourselves.
I don’t even have a disability or anything. I have mild ADHD at best and I’m pretty medicated for it.
