back to school

               

                      

learning our language

I joined te reo Maori classes at our local Marae, three weeks into the term. So, I really went in at a disadvantage.

an auspicious time to start

Unknowingly, it was also the start of an auspicious astrological twelve year cycle, called a Jupiter return. Which means that Jupiter is back in my chart to bestow it's benevolent and expansive blessings on moi. And I know this because I am lucky enough to have a daughter who is a brilliant astrologer.

But, I digress. Languages are not, shall we say, my strong point. So, it has been interesting learning another language. If you know what I mean. Maori is a very poetic and lyrical language. So, myself, who talks very little, is learning how to embellish my speech. Well, I haven't actually started doing this. But I shall.

languages et moi

I do talk very eloquently though, in a few areas of life:

• when I write I am much more eloquent than in everyday parlance.
• I really come to life when expressing spirituality, which I teach, and which is my passion. 
• I can understand quite a bit of spoken French, and can even say a few words in the correct context.

progressing. slowly.

Today was a landmark day for me, in class. I realised that :

• it just didn't work constantly looking up words in a dictionary
• I have been doing little boxes as I write, around any of the grammar points which we have learnt, and today it all started to gel

I do extra homework and also chanting of the karakias  (like prayers to the Gods, you could say), because my pronunciation, well, it sucked when I started. I so want to be fluent.  I managed my first oral test, and made only a few errors. I had practised for hours. 

it helps to know our learning style

I guess that we all have a learning style. When I learn a spiritual technique, I usually, but not always, need to do it just once and then I never forget how to do it.  But with language, I know that I need to do something over and over, and over. Repeat, repeat, repeat. It's a longer way than for many others who might learn quickly by listening. But I don't. I have to watch the speakers mouth and duplicate the mouth movements to get the sound right. 

we all have a learning style

learning life lessons

I would have to say, though, that many of life's lessons, I have had to learn over and over. An astrologer told me many years ago, (my daughter) that if something is in our chart, we don't just sort it out and then it never happens again. And sometimes I think that this is a New Age and First World concept: fix it and we've learnt the lesson. But no. Apparently it will be a permanent thing in our chart because it is part of our life's journey. For whatever reason. I much prefer this explanation to any other. 

I guess that this would be The School Of Life: one's own school, one's own story. Things are going to happen. Over and over. The same ole story. But, with experience and wisdom which sometimes I feel has come from hindsight (just saying), we can see it coming, we can manage it a bit better each time. We grow a bit more each time. And I guess that we have a learning style here, too. I have had.