Something that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is that learning another language can end up pushing us to the very edge of what we know and who we think we are.
Language learning, that is, isn’t just about learning nouns, verbs, or new ways to say hello. It is also about how we feel, sense, imagine, and conceptualize the world and ourselves.
I spoke about this recently on an episode of the Ten Thousand Things podcast with Shin Yu Pai, released this past Wednesday. She’s done a beautiful job interviewing me about my journey with Spanish and with Juan Rulfo’s extraordinary novel, Pedro Páramo.
In particular, she was able to draw out how a work like this one not only makes us more aware of our relationship with those who’ve gone before us, but can deepen these relationships in unexpected ways.
If you’re curious, I invite you to take a listen. You can find the episode here:
Listen via Acast in any web browser.
Listen via Spotify.
Listen via Apple Podcasts.
The Great Paradox
What I want to share with you here has to do with the unexpected gift that can come from daring to explore our own edges.
One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was graduating from college, right before my adventures with languages began, was to continually push myself to try things that were unfamiliar and even scary.
I still think that’s good advice.
But what I found exploring first Tamil and then Spanish, was that the process of going to the edge of what I knew and who I thought I was also returned me, paradoxically, to the center of who I am.
It renewed my delight, for instance, in the music and playfulness of words, and reminded me what I really wanted to do in the short time we get to walk on the earth.
An Invitation
I share this not necessarily to suggest that you learn another language–although that can be wonderful–but to encourage you to ask yourself if there’s anything you’ve been wanting to do that might push you beyond your usual routine or sense of the world.
Is there an art or sport you’ve wanted to explore or a place you’ve wanted to visit?
Are there books you’ve been meaning to read but have put off reading, perhaps out of intimidation or even fear?
Or people you’ve wanted to meet? Or a song you’ve wanted to learn to sing?
Because if so, this may be the perfect time to do it, because this is the moment you’re alive.
It may end up taking you not only to the edge but also to your center, knowing it afresh and anew.
Let me know how it goes, and if you listen to the podcast, I’d love to hear what caught your attention or spoke to your own experience.
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Together we can explore what Ezra Pound calls “news that STAYS new.”