the language of your heart

Someone told me sometime in the last two months that the language of your heart is the language you count in. I had never thought about this before that moment. Since then, I have watched people count, each time this theory proving to be true. Or so I assume. All of us that only speak one language efficiently do not really understand the theory, but watch your bilingual friends: the language of their heart is the language they count in.

Today I met a man from San Diego. His parents were Brazilian and he was raised speaking both English and Portuguese. He threw me for a loop at first, because his English was just as good as his Portuguese. He could have convinced us his native language was either/ or and I would of believed him. Finally, once he told me he was from the US and informed me of his story, I asked him which language he felt more comfortable with. He responded, “English, I count in English.” AH HA! Light bulb moment. The language of your heart is the language you count in.

When I arrived in Brazil, our first lecture was about how language IS culture. So I guess with deductive reasoning this means that the language of your heart is the culture you emanate through your actions. (you following me?). In this case, in the heart of brazilians is: the friendliness. The love. The laziness. The creativeness. The polycronicness. The hugs between friends each time you leave a situation leaves you with a feeling of belonging after each encounter. There is just so much love in this country for each person. It hurts to see them hurting and the pain of the financial crisis that they are experiencing.

So let’s flip the situation back to the United States for a second. I think culture also defines us. What do you think defines an American? How does this influence the way you act? For the most part I feel like my ‘cold shoulder’ comes from the experiences I have had.. but a lot of it also stems from being an American.

I think we should love more. I think the language of our heart doesn’t have to be the definition of our actions. I think that people are people are people and regardless of who they are and what they identify as, that we should be accepting that they can follow their dreams.

We’ve got to stop thinking our ideas our better than others

We’ve got to stop thinking that we need to be in charge.

Check out the news lately.  And if you think something is wrong with the picture we are painting. SAY SOMETHING. Do something. We are given freedom of speech for a reason. We are humiliating ourselves on an international stage because we can’t just love each other. Transgender persons want to be in the military, Donald Trump so just let them. You should be freaking proud that they want to represent and fight for the freedom that our country is built and founded upon.

Love each other. please