John Francis: Walk the earth ... my 17-year vow of silence

John Francis: Walk the earth ... my 17-year vow of silence | TED

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15 жыл бұрын

For almost three decades, John Francis has been a planetwalker, traveling the globe by foot and sail with a message of environmental respect and responsibility (for 10 of those years without speaking). A funny, thoughtful talk with occasional banjo.
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Пікірлер: 217

@ralphwen 15 жыл бұрын

We are abusing our senses. We are taking in so much information without thinking about them. This is such a great video. I'm completely moved.

@MovieJustin 2 жыл бұрын

I feel his emotion when he talks about people coming to hear him speak. Waiting 17 years to be heard is profound.

@rsh947 7 жыл бұрын

I know Mr. Francis in real life. What a friendly man he is.

@MrThe1234guy 6 жыл бұрын

Reid Shriver What a moron and a waste of a life

@spoolyanddanalixdnb 5 жыл бұрын

@@MrThe1234guy Your mentality is a disease, You are a leech..

@valeriecarpenter4631 4 жыл бұрын

Reid Shriver ~ he really does generally seem to be.

@BLaCkKsHeEp 4 жыл бұрын

yeah me too bro. i smoked weed with him and Barack Obama

@mycorosa 3 жыл бұрын

Kind, resilient and brilliant. He's my inspiration to keep on. If there's will, there is a way.

@NobodyInTraining 11 жыл бұрын

I tried not talking for a while but my mother kept yelling at me for it.

@hammockmonk 6 жыл бұрын

NobodyInTraining Shhhh...

@cokiecat1013 3 жыл бұрын

Julius Red wow really, i bet he didnt think of that

@tanit7741 3 жыл бұрын

Yep I got yelled at too and I wrote my granny a note to say I’m not speaking and she threw the note across the room ppl get really triggered when they can’t get narcissistic supply or your mental attention or energy.

@ms.simeon5452 2 жыл бұрын

😁

@WhitmoreReads Жыл бұрын

Currently reading his book had to find this. I'm so inspired. ❤️

@emilyroberts3832 4 жыл бұрын

This is an amazing story, it's so sad that this would be essentially impossible these days. I'm autistic and don't like talking, I've often wished I could just go completely silent, but it's so hard in today's overly busy, overly loud world where you have to communicate just to get by.

@laurenmontera9516 2 жыл бұрын

I don't like talking. My thoughts become very busy when people are talking around me. I become so immersed in what everyone else is saying and how it makes me feel. I run through my internal hamster wheel interpreting what was just said. Once I figure that out, I'll think about what I have to say and then say it. I am not autistic, just sensitive.

@austinwayno4988 2 жыл бұрын

Sometimes the people who say nothing at all say the most... remember that.

@derman077 14 жыл бұрын

A girl once asked me, ' Why can't I find a guy like you?' I said " I don't know, if I see a guy like me, I'll ask him.

@kabziedanz 4 жыл бұрын

Lol

@bobbyjones-uv5cn 4 жыл бұрын

A woman once asked me, "where are all the good men?"I replied, "At work taking care of a woman."

@KadeBenji 2 ай бұрын

@bobbyjones-uv5cn Lol why gotta support her while she chilling 😎

@climateteacherjohnj7763 6 жыл бұрын

I know someone who walked in silence for the first 100 days of a march across the country. She refused to speak or even write down words and would only make up a sign language of gestures, humming a tune, or laughing. Sometimes she would even cry and once she ran off to hide in a tree because our words of argument and non-communicating were so frustrating. She kept signing for togetherness. She did this for the sake of those without a voice. She was on the Great March for Climate Action and we were all walking to "change the national conversation about the climate crisis". I'll say she did more to change our "conversation" into real communication than anyone else. After that 100 days she spoke because we agreed that someone would choose a day of silence for each day of the march and that we would do it in relay until we got to Washington, D.C. I think that was a profound lesson. She changed us with love and listening. Hugs, a song, and the gleam of love in your eyes can change the world around you. It can probably change the world.

@yourboy9236 4 жыл бұрын

any more info? Wonderful story

@hunterchey02 3 жыл бұрын

Really really beautiful story.

@UmWhoAsked 9 ай бұрын

It will change the world. Thank you for this.

@metagordy2917 4 жыл бұрын

John Francis is my new hero. I have recently contemplated taking a vow of silence, and a simple Google search led me here. I work in the maritime industry as a Pilot boat Master, and John's sentiments about motorised vehicles resonated with my own thoughts. Every time I push those throttles I'm thinking about how much emissions are being burnt into our air. Having read Buddhist ideas of good livelihood, I know that my career brings stress to both the environment and myself. I've been working on a 5 year plan on how to leave this line of work, this talk is really is inspirational, I feel that finding this has helped me to commit to my goals.

@priyankakakade4044 2 жыл бұрын

I have taken a vow of silence after attending vipassana meditation course from this month.. And I am going to practice this for my whole life.. Right now only 50 words I spead in a day that too I am trying to reduce wherever possible 🤞🎯 it's a very liberating kind of experience..

@boxant 15 жыл бұрын

And such an amazing voice it is.

@MrThe1234guy 6 жыл бұрын

BoxANT Yeah and he wasted so long

@dmixtress 14 жыл бұрын

What a great story teller .. I can imagine sitting around a fire with my daughter.. listening to a story with life lessons intertwined. Thank you. Really enjoyed it.

@GolDFish-if1ov 2 жыл бұрын

For me the less you talk and the more you listen leads to more understanding.

@Matteo0412 2 жыл бұрын

I knew Mr Francis in West Cape May: walking. What a genuine man!! Carlos P. Perú 🇵🇪

@valeriecarpenter4631 4 жыл бұрын

I talk so much I have almost an overwhelming feeling of responsibility to "teach" people. This morning I had an emotional awakening to take a vow of silence. This video was wonderful. Thank You and WOW!❤

@evelynulvilden2029 9 жыл бұрын

This is so powerful!

@JoeBrown-ov2li 5 жыл бұрын

Silence Is Like The EARTH, IT SPEAKS VOLUMES; UNIVERSAL GALACTIC SOUNDS...

@bsglick 14 жыл бұрын

I have never been inspired by anyone other than my father anywhere near as much as by John Francis. I am altering my lifestyle radically, but aspire to live totally car free someday soon.

@lemaitrethemonk 15 жыл бұрын

what an incredible story... after hearing this i will try to be silent for an hour a day. who knows it mite change my perspective and teach me to listen more! he is the american version of gandi and i'm proud to have watched this...peace everyone and have a good day or night. which ever finds you best...

@SlushGuppy 8 жыл бұрын

Aw man, I really needed to hear this! :) I've been on the cusp of a big life decision for the past year, and I've been hesitant to leave behind the security that I've built up for myself, over the course of my entire life. But I know that I need to, in order to become the person that I want to become in the end. And I've been feeling as though remaining in this secure bubble that I've created for myself, has actually been hindering me. It's been making me anxious and restless and helpless. I've become comfortable and dependent on my current situation, and have become controlling an uneasy, in that I don't want it to change. But those very feelings are the reason I NEED it to change. To be comfortable with change, and to be comfortable to break down those walls that I've built up for myself, to be able to step beyond them to become the person that I truly want to be. It may be difficult, but it will make me happier, in the long run! Thank you! This is exactly what I needed to hear! :)

@rachelconnolly5951 7 жыл бұрын

Slush Guppy I came across your comment and I must know, did you make the big step? Whatever you decided I hope it went well!

@melanielavaud4669 6 жыл бұрын

Slush Guppy me too 💚

@timothywhitehouse7443 4 жыл бұрын

You can do anything if you believe in yourself man, make the move

@Decimaster321 15 жыл бұрын

This is so amazing, absolutely my favorite TED video I've seen so far.

@mjl451 8 жыл бұрын

So inspiring; so humble. remarkable. What a difference maker!

@miteshbhagwant4615 4 жыл бұрын

i really loved this man

@ratholin 13 жыл бұрын

this guy is simply amazing

@smcmillan88 15 жыл бұрын

It's interesting to see how different a lifestyle John has pursued and how he has become. I can't help wonder how he ate and survived for those 7 years walking across the Continent.

@buddyrichrocks 11 жыл бұрын

a wonderful talk. and a really great message. never seen anything like it. we should strive to be a little bit like him, while striving to "be" ourselves.

@xanthus1 15 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed this talk. He's right about the silence: it's a moving experience. I haven't really realized it before. I wouldn't necessarily define me as a quiet person, but I am often in a sort of silent mood, and you're able to hear things and understand others in a way you didn't before.

@ashdyo 15 жыл бұрын

truly inspiring, and really get you thinking about the importance and necessity of language, or possibly the true lack there of

@mendesbr4682 4 жыл бұрын

Sou brasileiro e gostei muito da sua história e vou mim incentivar em você, não ficando sem falar por 17 anos mais por ser uma pessoa que não desiste, uma pessoa esforçada. Incrível incrível sua história

@sunshineandmuffins 14 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@charlesbidinger7064 5 жыл бұрын

Amen! You encourage me!

@t00ny 15 жыл бұрын

incredible... for 20 minutes i just couldnt take my eyes off the screen. DAMN!

@ratholin 15 жыл бұрын

Holy crap that was amazing! That's one of the best TED talks ever.

@lajaffa989 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah

@nealpeterson 3 жыл бұрын

The world needs more of this type of courage.

@aakritianne2293 3 жыл бұрын

Beside every wonderful word he just said, beside every inspiring, mind blowing stories he just tell, I love love the way he smiles and the brightness in his eyes. It catchs me and yes he just touched me, my heart. ❤😊😊👍👍 I loved the environmentalists. "We are environment. If we see how we treated eachother, we see how we treated environment. ", "If we can change the way we treated eachother(from bad to good), we can change the world for good." Awesome video. 👍👍😇

@jdl871 10 жыл бұрын

I would recommend his book!

@oOhaseoXambroseOo 12 жыл бұрын

who would dislike this? really i met the man and it was amazing! he is a huge inspiration, a very king and very funny man. and for me it was an honor

@rowys.8414 3 жыл бұрын

I found comfort in silence when I was still a child full of questions and some hurts and perhaps would be on it again in this season but not necessarily because of pain.

@GOLDENLIGHTISH 11 жыл бұрын

wonderful..

@AlaskaB83 13 жыл бұрын

John Francis's book Planet Walker is amazing. What an inspirational man and story!

@lebasson 15 жыл бұрын

breathtaking!

@RilianSharp 15 жыл бұрын

I went through a very short no-talking phase when I was 11. Later I decided I like talking because it helps me connect to other people.

@jamesscholl2729 2 жыл бұрын

it's great to be able to learn from this incredible story!

@kalleu00 15 жыл бұрын

AMAZINGGGGG

@EvanKoys 11 ай бұрын

I really admire this man's courage!!!

@Frace91 15 жыл бұрын

very inspiring story great video, everyone should see this

@deezacharo 15 жыл бұрын

amazing!!

@FergieTCI 5 ай бұрын

I saw him in 2007. I’m a lot older but today he’s still an inspiration.

@fuckingeveryname 15 жыл бұрын

Thanks TED

@SamiraWyldAWyldLoveNote 2 жыл бұрын

Profound. Thank you 🙏🏼💜

@myopeneyesopenmind 12 жыл бұрын

speechless xx

@MLGKrome 2 жыл бұрын

I never comment on videos. This was amazing,

@InsectRoyalty 15 жыл бұрын

I'm impressed with him, and I feel there is something to learn, but I feel I need to feel for myself the passion to change in such a way. Incredible story. I'm inspired, I just don'k know how or do what end. Time will tell!

@andrewmurphy8863 6 жыл бұрын

InsectRoyalty 8 years later... Did you find the passion to change?

@johnyprestige 15 жыл бұрын

beautiful

@boorens18 15 жыл бұрын

hes saying that, the way to make people start caring about the enviroment is to make them care about eachother, however hard that may be. If you think of us as indifferent to eachother, we use pollution and ignorance of the damage as a metaphorical attack on eachother. We dont care about how we damage eachother, hence we dont care that we are polluting and harming eachother

@natalieknight8695 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing.

@mrkvamaster 15 жыл бұрын

Amazing

@CeemPlay 4 жыл бұрын

So powerful

@ZenRoyal 2 жыл бұрын

Oh wow. I was born and raised in Missoula Montana and am still here

@ElectrickDragon 15 жыл бұрын

awesome!

@AngilasGuy 15 жыл бұрын

That was amazing.

@MrThe1234guy 6 жыл бұрын

Amphioxus no it wasn't

@AngeliaKing 13 жыл бұрын

Thank you @JohnFrancis I love travelling from my inner heart. So TED talks, like John Francis walks the Earth, really give me a big image what the human can really have done on our mother earth. In one life, what it really matters if I could keep walking on.

@dmstromer 14 жыл бұрын

this is so heavy! thank you!

@melanielavaud4669 6 жыл бұрын

Dominique Stromer 💛💛💛💛💛

@MrThe1234guy 6 жыл бұрын

Serious?

@rosanella8 14 жыл бұрын

Truly inspiring. Rosanella :-)

@berhanamichael5519 6 жыл бұрын

wow I admired you

@ellis3536 6 жыл бұрын

What a legend!

@charlesbidinger7064 5 жыл бұрын

Wow!

@arheru 15 жыл бұрын

I surely hope so!

@ratholin 12 жыл бұрын

John Francis is the lorax.

@theragingmechanic5879 3 жыл бұрын

I SPEAK FOR THE TREES

@ElliotJohnNovak 14 жыл бұрын

Saw him in Minneapolis at the U of MN. Great, great storyteller and speaker, especially live. And of course, the banjo sounds better live as well - the video camera narrows and distorts the audio. I own the book now, it kicks ass. That's my two cents!

@PeaceRanter 15 жыл бұрын

GREAT ONE LOVE

@Elaina43 15 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Santi2c!

@ZoeZuniga 14 жыл бұрын

Another beautiful speaker on this subject of treatent of ourselves an others is World Peace Diet.

@TheEggBeast 15 жыл бұрын

remarkable

@MrThe1234guy 6 жыл бұрын

Justin Bolz remarkable how stupid he is

@slaughtz 14 жыл бұрын

Instead of voting you down like a lot of other people, I think that's a valid question. What is the point? Well, I'd say to try and consider how 'life would be like' if people were to take his approach, but I too have the same skepticism. Why live for anyone but yourself? Giving to yourself, in my opinion; is essential, before you can give to others. It's really not up to anyone else but you to come up with the 'point' of changing. No one else can convince you to change, it's up to you.

@charlesbidinger7064 5 жыл бұрын

I turned 16 the day you began to speak!

@gabrielg.2401 3 жыл бұрын

The description of this video holds nothing to how real and important this talk really is.

@Jahaison 15 жыл бұрын

Wow, this guy has lived the life most of us dream of... or do in retirement. Well, with the talking.

@kingkrankSPW 15 жыл бұрын

damn that was deep.

@saxazax 5 жыл бұрын

I watched this because I want to make video games, but I am struggling with making art, using tools that are produced in sweatshops--computers, tablets, VR headsets, etc. But my original desire was to speak to people today, and over and above what I feel I need to teach people about my experience and ideas, I want to give them a mirror in which they can see clearly. So if that means making games that simply make people take a look at themselves, then I will have fulfilled my desire...

@wayfaringstranger8430 5 жыл бұрын

I don't necessarily understand you, but you shared your vision. Sounds like a good plan to me.

@saxazax 5 жыл бұрын

@@wayfaringstranger8430 Sorry, I didn't explain fully, I was talking about feeling guilty about the environment/sweatshop workers producing computers that people play video games on.

@bhambhole 6 ай бұрын

Honest question. Does using text or writing things down violate the vow? Non-verbal communication has taught me so much. You must see the language of human emotion in the subtlety.

@OpakeArawra2 15 жыл бұрын

wow.

@Elaina43 15 жыл бұрын

This would be an excellent challenge. I don't know if I could do it for 24 hours.

@TheMargaretindc 14 жыл бұрын

Seriously. Just watch this video. John Francis took a 17 yr. vow of silence and swore off motorized vehicles for 20 years after an oil spill in the SF Bay. In that time, he earned a B.A., a Masters and his PhD, all while walking around the country. He taught college while not speaking, and is one of the world's leading experts on on oil spills.

@charlesbidinger7064 5 жыл бұрын

April 22. Earthday baby! And my name is Charles!

@yemamayay5860 Жыл бұрын

The Hero's Journey

@wolfblade25 15 жыл бұрын

Astounding, Possibly my favorite TED yet.

@yellooh 4 жыл бұрын

I have done it but not for so long. I still fast this way.

@7thegirlinglass7 12 жыл бұрын

ROLE MODEL!

@MrThe1234guy 6 жыл бұрын

7thegirlinglass7 NOT

@jarduli 15 жыл бұрын

lets change then!

@cantfakethefunkdj 14 жыл бұрын

i saw him at the wilcox presentation 10/7/09! i asked him to sign my chest!

@charlesbidinger7064 5 жыл бұрын

He's so nerdy and I look it!

@Infectious0Fun 14 жыл бұрын

Same here.

@TheCoehess Жыл бұрын

“On occasion, I would become so wedded to my thoughts, to some cascade of ideas that I actually lost touch with the details that my body was still gathering, from a place. The ear heard the song of a vesper sparrow, the mind pleased with itself for identifying those notes as the song of a vesper sparrow was too occupied, with its summary to notice that the ear was still offering. The mind was making no use of the body's ability to be discerning, about sounds. So the mind's knowledge of the place, remains superficial.” - Barry Lopez