It's interesting to see my command of language in my postings begin to deteriorate after a few days. I miss pronouns, repeat myself sometimes and generally just write awkwardly. Despite how much I write for school and pleasure, it is still rooted in sound. Losing my sense of that sound really threw me off balance.
Whenever I had to deal with a stranger, I pretended to be actually mute. Most people were very accommodating (especially considering my terrible handwriting), but there were two cases (one at a shop, the other at the gym) when the other person treated me like I was an idiot. Even after explaining that I could hear fine, just couldn't speak, they both sounded their words out slowly and used very simple diction. They were basically trying to make me feel stupid.
Amongst friends or acquaintances, it was really cool. At the beginning, because of my ridiculous charades or writing things down I had serious trouble contributing to a conversation--by the time I had written my point down everyone had moved on. Pretty quickly, though, everyone had empathized and accommodated to the point where, hanging out in a group of 6 people, everyone would just stop talking if I was writing, giving me the chance to have my say. It was pretty touching. I also heard this joke about six times: "It's funny they call it a handicap, since it makes me like you more".
The impact was even more extensive. Sifu Prince mentioned that around me he felt the urge to not speak as well, which I found with a few more people. Others noted how they felt much more inclined to open up to a person who didn't say anything, since I was completely involved in the act of listening. I got a lot of confessions/revelations from unexpected sources.
I could see it inspiring people as well. My roommate was silent for a night to encourage me to extend my vow beyond a day and I answered many, many questions about learning how to truly listen and empathize, as well as the value of communication. I broke my silence (by saying "facetious is my favourite word") right before playing a set Sunday night, and so many people had heard and were talking about it that the simple line, without context, caused about half the crowd to applaud.
Whenever I had to deal with a stranger, I pretended to be actually mute. Most people were very accommodating (especially considering my terrible handwriting), but there were two cases (one at a shop, the other at the gym) when the other person treated me like I was an idiot. Even after explaining that I could hear fine, just couldn't speak, they both sounded their words out slowly and used very simple diction. They were basically trying to make me feel stupid.
Amongst friends or acquaintances, it was really cool. At the beginning, because of my ridiculous charades or writing things down I had serious trouble contributing to a conversation--by the time I had written my point down everyone had moved on. Pretty quickly, though, everyone had empathized and accommodated to the point where, hanging out in a group of 6 people, everyone would just stop talking if I was writing, giving me the chance to have my say. It was pretty touching. I also heard this joke about six times: "It's funny they call it a handicap, since it makes me like you more".
The impact was even more extensive. Sifu Prince mentioned that around me he felt the urge to not speak as well, which I found with a few more people. Others noted how they felt much more inclined to open up to a person who didn't say anything, since I was completely involved in the act of listening. I got a lot of confessions/revelations from unexpected sources.
I could see it inspiring people as well. My roommate was silent for a night to encourage me to extend my vow beyond a day and I answered many, many questions about learning how to truly listen and empathize, as well as the value of communication. I broke my silence (by saying "facetious is my favourite word") right before playing a set Sunday night, and so many people had heard and were talking about it that the simple line, without context, caused about half the crowd to applaud.
I don't think I truly captured how sublime talking felt last night. It was a sheer joy just to have a conversation, feeling language and form rippling across my tongue. Even though I've rediscovered the joy of speech, I think it'll be a good idea to talk a little less. The best lesson this week was that listening well is a full time activity.
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