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.

do birds chirp on a loop near you? Mine keep a certain cadence but its always unique.

There was an elective college class that I took that was about movies. There were some really meh movies but one that surprised me was called Smoke. This scene here stuck with me the most because it changed the way I look at the areas I see every day.

ngl, sounds like a skill issue

Then you must be old, as am I. Though my obsession was Everquest.

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 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.

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.

Damn. One day I’ll meet one.

It was a joke.

I have severe ADHD as well. Not everyone has the same symptoms. Good job on keeping your comment short and concise. I can’t do that.

Do you have trouble memorizing facial features. Can you hold eye contact? Do you know your age without doing math?

There are so many symptoms one can have with adhd. A lot of us get really frustrated if we have to focus on one thing. I need my podcasts. I’m listening to Robert Evan’s talk about Jamaican slavery while writing this.

I can’t just do one thing. That’s crazy to imagine. I love listening to nature, I just do it while doing something else. I’m able to focus on both, I have to focus on both.

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.