Before I write more, I would once again like to thank my friend, Anna and her family for offering me an opportunity to find inspiration and grow! Dzienkuje, moja droga przyjaciolka! Dziekuje rodzinie Liwinskich! English: Thank you my dear friend! Thank you Liwinska family :-) Learning polish has been an amazing journey so far! I have learned much more than how to say polish words and phrases. At the root of any learning journey are certain qualities that can provide success if embraced. Persistence, kindness, and humility not only serve me in this learning adventure, but also enriches every aspect of my life for myself and others! Please allow me to share some of these impressions my friend, and it would be a wonderful gift to me if this sharing could somehow support you in your journey!
Persistence
It can be difficult to remain focused on something for a period of time, but often the most rewarding parts of a practice come with time. A well that is dug deep is more likely to provide life giving water than one that is shallow. As time goes by the Polish language becomes more nature for me to understand and convey through writing and speech. Mezczyzni niosa ciezkie biurko. Had no meaning to me 5 months ago, but now I understand that this collection of symbols means, “The men are carrying the heavy desk.” Admittedly it is still a little difficult for me to say this sentence in Polish, but month to month I can see a difference in my skill level.
Persistence in commitment is very important when learning something. I learn polish because it brings me happiness and personal growth, not because there is a big cash award at the end of so many lessons. Somehow I feel more complete when I am learning something for the joy of it rather than promises of riches. This experience reminds me of the phrase, “If it was meant to be, it will be.” Through painful breaks in both relationships and career paths, I have learned that forcing your way into something only leads to ruin. “Slow and steady wins the race,” comes to mind as well. If I gave up every time something did not make sense from Polish to English, I would never get anywhere. And just like making sense out of some of the bizarre things that happen in life, there are allot of bizarre things going on in Polish if you look through the lenses of an English experience in language. It takes time and effort, there is no secret formula, other than the one that we hold in our hearts.
Kindness
I have learned to be kind to myself over and over again. In the past I would have not lasted as long I have, going into …swrzesien, pazdziernik, listopad, grudzien, styczen, 5 months of Polska nauka-Polish study. With everything else that is going on in my life,the pressure of where to commit, of what to do, would have caused me to fold, and self destruct long ago. Balancing learning Polish between teaching yoga, working 32 hours a week at Walmart, writing articles, my personal yoga practice, and activities for fun, miscellaneous chores, would not be an easy task for me a year ago. I am not trying to say that this is an especially heavy load for anyone other than me.
I have had many bad experiences in my life surrounding school and workplace pressure, so progressing into a balance of activity for me is a significant accomplishment. In order to make it work, in order to be ready another day to learn, live, and grow, I need to give myself breaks when I need them. This is not to say that I can step out of a situation fully whenever I want to, but the relaxation techniques I have learned like breath work, affirmations, meditation, and some yoga stretches can be employed most anywhere. Learning to take a break at appropriate times in this sort of way allows me to not only be kind and considerate to myself, but helps me share that kindness with others who I am working with or spending time with in some fashion. Also I can use the Polish words that I have learned in a sort of remembering meditation that works much the same as affirmations. When remembering word phrases or lists this helps to disrupt negative thoughts I might be having. This makes it less likely that I will react in anger or frustration when I am put under pressure, making it more likely that I will act in a helpful, friendly manner, finding solutions to problems rather thank causing them.
Humility
Asking for help, realizing that I do not have all the answers is a very important part of the journey in learning a new language as well as in life and general. As I learn to as for help from Anna and other people that have an understanding of the polish language I have faith and trust in their expertise. I begin to think I know something, and then I find out from feedback that it is not quite right, and I have more learning to do. This is a practice that continues on and one over and over especially when learning something very new and foreign. Through this process I am enlightened a bit about my other life practices, especially those that I share with others. It is possible that I am not always right in the things I think I am very familiar with like at work and at home. Asking for help from others and expressing interest in the way that they do things significantly helps me in keeping my relationships at home and work happy, as well as assisting me in experiencing something new and interesting in situations that, if I remain stuck in my own head, can easily become boring and stale.
Thank you to all those who are helping me to learn polish as well as all those helping me to learn more about the things I thought that I might have known completely! There is so much joy to experience if we only allow ourselves to keep learning and growing! I hope that I have share a useful insight or two with you, my friend! May learning and growth widen and expand the happiness and health we all experience day to day! God bless you, Namaste, have a great day! Love, Aaron :-)