Verbal/body language communication is over rated

Verbal communication and actions are over rated.

For example, for the past 12 months while I’ve been in burnout, I haven’t heard from hardly any of my friends and barely any of my family, and I’ve got a lot of friends and family, so this isn’t usual.

This has been a true god send to me. Most of them don’t even know yet that I’m autistic and they certainly don’t know I’ve been in a burnout, they have no idea.

However, since I’ve started to feel better, I’ve had a steady but manageable (so far) stream of friends contacting me. Inviting me out for lunch, to go for a walk, to go nordic walking, cycling, one friend who knows I would love to go to Marrakesh has paid for and booked a holiday there for us in June, the same friend has also booked a hotel for us next week so we can go to listen to her favourite band who are coming over from America. None of her friends like the band so they won’t go but she knows I’d go to the end of the world for her if needs be so although I don’t like going to listen to bands, I’m happy to go with her because I know how important it is to her and she’s insisted that she pay for that as well. We might not see each other or have any kind of contact for months and months on end but she knows she can rely on me to the degree that if i’m able to help or be there for her in any way, I will be. She doesn’t have the same level of confidence in the friends she hangs out with all the time.

I have other invites coming in as well, as well as friends popping up to simply say hi, how are you. I don’t keep in regular verbal or physical contact with my friends or family but we are in touch constantly by something much stronger than our words and actions. They didn’t know that I need their friendships right now, that their friendships are what will help me on my next leg of the journey. I’ve decided to go back to India and Bali and some other countries so I’m going to be away for a while this time, maybe a few years, maybe forever, who knows, so it’s great that I get to see some of my friends before I go. And no matter where I am in the world, at least one of my family or friends (who are my family) will come and visit me. They have been to Australia, Bali, India, the Isle of Man, all the places I’ve lived in the UK, wherever I go or wherever I am my friends keep in touch with me some how. I’ve even had letters and cards arrive at remote ashrams I’ve been at in India ~ I wouldn’t even know you could do that!

I don’t keep in touch with them so much but they never let me out of their hearts and visa versa. They all encourage and support me no matter what I do. My dad is currently encouraging me to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, another friend bought me the book with the route etc and I just know that whether I want them to or not, at least one of them will come and see me while I’m walking the trail and either walk a bit of the trail with me or for me to have a little stop off with them. I know when my sister is hurt and in which part of her body and visa versa and she’s the least ‘spiritual’ person you could ever come across.

This is a few days later now and I have to admit that the messages from friends and family is starting to become a little overwhelming for me now. I’ll handle it. But what I’m saying is, if I had to rely on verbal communication, I don’t think I’d have any friends at all, but I speak to them in my language. They don’t use this language with other people and they have no idea really how it works with me but it does and I’m overflowing with gratitude at the love and friendship that’s pouring my way now, now that I’m ready to receive it.

Verbal communication hurts my head, sign language is a bit better but I much prefer to communicate in a non verbal, none sign language way. That way I don’t have to get past all your understandings and you beyond mine before we reach some level of mutual understanding.

This is why I love silent retreats and the level of friendships you form there go way deeper than the ones you make when you are verbally communicating or communicating through body language.

I love it when I go mute but that doesn’t happen very often so I have to accept that I was given the ability to speak for some reason. I have surrendered to this now so now I will be guided in whatever way I need to be and if it means using my voice, so be it. I don’t hate it like I used to. I accept I can speak and now I’m not fighting it I guess I’ll soon find out why I can. I still find verbal/body language to be a very crude and harsh form of communication though. 

Parents
  • Wow. Having too many friends. People that actually want to spend time with you. What a problem to have.

  • Problem? Sorry, I take things literally so you might not mean what you said but I haven’t got a problem with anybody or anything. I don’t have problems, they don’t interest me. 

  • You said you were overwhelmed with all the attention you're getting which I took to be a problem.

    I was being a bit sarcastic there. I honestly cannot imagine what it must be like to have people who care, not to mention too many of them. Just indulging in a bit of self-pity.

  • Why would you laugh at people for having friends? I don’t understand? But it’s ok for you to have friends? 

    Because who, seriously, has 849 friends.  Or 1,445 friends (as one person does whom I've seen on Facebook).  Interestingly, too, it's often the good looking women with lots of alluring selfies who seem to have the most.  Even having 100 friends would require a form of social maintenance that would take up all of your available time.  Such 'friendships' can never be more than superficial.  Most people have one or two, at most four, close friends.  A lot of Aspies, myself included, have none at all.  As I said, it doesn't bother me.  And I'm glad for people who have friends.  They're not my concern, though.  It's those who want friends and don't have them - for all sorts of reasons - that I worry about.  It isn't just a matter of having more confidence to go out there and find them, either.  It's about so much else.

Reply
  • Why would you laugh at people for having friends? I don’t understand? But it’s ok for you to have friends? 

    Because who, seriously, has 849 friends.  Or 1,445 friends (as one person does whom I've seen on Facebook).  Interestingly, too, it's often the good looking women with lots of alluring selfies who seem to have the most.  Even having 100 friends would require a form of social maintenance that would take up all of your available time.  Such 'friendships' can never be more than superficial.  Most people have one or two, at most four, close friends.  A lot of Aspies, myself included, have none at all.  As I said, it doesn't bother me.  And I'm glad for people who have friends.  They're not my concern, though.  It's those who want friends and don't have them - for all sorts of reasons - that I worry about.  It isn't just a matter of having more confidence to go out there and find them, either.  It's about so much else.

Children
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