Una Palabra Sola

Accept your invitation to truly be present, and enjoy the space between moments and tasks on your to-do list.

Join me in the one of the greatest (free!) stress-relievers there are…. bring the context and las carcajadas; Carlin cosplayers optional but always invited.

Life is full of twists and turns- much like the Bop-it toy, it's more about your reaction than the initial action.

As the only job to do as humans, “respirar” is important in life, in language, and in health. Where do you need to breathe more?

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"No" is more than a Shakira song or a full sentence.... it's an adverb and has some pretty powerful synonyms.

It's a song, a music video, an adjective, and a cultural phenomenon...

Life isn’t known for being smooth… but the present moment is. Use the power of the present to make your Spanish skills * más suave. *

Moments turn into minutes, and minutes turn into your life. It all comes down to choices and how you choose to show up in the world.... es mejor aprovecharla. La vida es para gozar, amar, crear, cuidar y significar.

This episode talks about the lost art of “enough”. How much is enough? What’s “good enough” look and feel like for you — and who determines that? Grab a pen, a journal, or a pillow to scream into and vamos!

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The ego is necessary in language-learning and beyond - egos are driven usually by values. Values come from what we think we deserve - or merecer.

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Who and how we are comes hand in hand with la intención, or the intention behind our actions. Intention is also key when creating and cultivating the life you want. There's more emphasis on "doing" versus "thinking about doing" from the historical Latin definition -- instead of dreaming or thinking, how can you take a more active role in creating your intentional life?

Expect and enjoy the temporality of life: everything - work, friends, family, emotions, feelings, desires - can be temporary, if you want it to be. Which season are you in, and how can you embrace the season with intention?

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Part of the magic of life is in the discovery of things about and around us.

3:48: We all have a lot of roles in our lives: which can help us prioritize and survive in Information Overload. It can also be detrimental because there are a lot of unspoken rules and expectations that come with each of our roles.

6:08: Because discoveries usually only happen once, use el pretérito (the preterite verb tense) to talk about things that were discovered.

13:22: It's OK to carve out space and time for these descubrimientos- for things to drop off of your plate in order to do the discovery work. It's OK to do so, and some might even say it's necessary.

21:33: If you want to do A Thing, you've got to do the discovery work to get clarity around your expectations and reasons why... with the discovery, comes clarity. You can then slow down your expectations, so that your perspective has time to catch up.

Life is all about the balance. How is the plant doing in its entirety? How are YOU doing? How’s your community?

2:23: We can use other words to flower (like dar flor)… but florecer is all about the entire plant; the entire picture flourishing.

11:28: Reflexive verbs (those that end in “se”) are those verbs that are reflected back: como ver (to see) and verse (to see yourself).

18:16: A full life requires balance. Are you nurturing yourself (including your internal monologues) and others? Or are you florecerse and getting burnt out?

21:14: Pinpoint and be aware of when things are going well, and when it’s time to back away. There are ample opportunities for blossoming and for failure.

25:19: Español thrives on keeping the verbs clear (knowing your pronouns and conjugations) and then adding all the embellishments and flourishes with adjectives or nouns.

TL;DR? Social anxiety is a real thing. And it gets realer when you are trying to meet people in another language -- we all have this fear of accidentally saying something offensive or ruining relationships with ignorance. Yet what we truly desire more than anything is to connect with other people: to connect with intention, with confidence, and with competence. We want to be perceived as a good person, and we want to find and connect with other good people. Respect is a cultural cornerstone to make that happen. See the full show notes here:

Let's be honest: we have a lot of thoughts and feelings around our capabilities. What we *can* and *cannot* do, what we feel empowered to do, and what we enjoy doing (capability does not equal fun, y'know). Dig in for the full episode that discusses shoshin, Spanish learning & conversation tips, and the true power of community when you do things that are *not* the norm.

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There are 3 main things every goal has to have in order to come to fruition -- intention, time, and the right environment. Listen to find how to get the most out of your goals and grow - porque con cada crecimiento, hay algo para aprender, hacer y mejorar. 

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Anytime can be a beginning - it needs to be a conscious choice and have intention behind it. And all adverbs need a verb: so it’s up to you to choose what you want to focus on. Every adverb requires a verb, in the grammar world and in the real world: so which verb do you choose to focus on? 

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The basics are there… it simple requires more of a single ingredient to become something substantial. Each moment represents small bits of time and energy, but all together make up the days, months, and years of our lives. We've all heard the phrase "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" - but what if there was the opportunity to bounce back, recollect, and "brillar" what you wanted to shine all along?

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YA is one of those words in Spanish that pack a lot of meaning and nuance into one syllable. It means "already" and can be used for times of fickleness, frustration, gossip, waiting, coming, or going.

Join our first-ever guest, Jennifer Jane Young ✨, as we talk about moving to and living in Mexico, getting stopped by police, training our dogs, and how YA is like Jell-O.

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An outcome, by definition, has to have an ending. It’s only our emotions and expectations that define that ending as a success or a failure. Today's episode is all about how to reframe some of the thought we have in our vida cotidiana, or everyday life. 

(Also, éxito doesn't mean an exit! That's "la salida"). 

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Time moves differently en español. Call it Latino Time, Island Time, Spanish Time: there's something to be learned from the priorities and pensamientos from other cultures, versus the Western *go go go* time. Today's episode is all about discerning what our immediate next step will be, and how to correctly define it. 

Take a breath, and take control of your schedule. Where's the time to simply *be*? 

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If you don't enjoy something, even the tiniest little bit of something, every day, are you living to how you want to live right now?

Today's episode is all about how to allow yourself small pockets of joy -- and why that's so important, especially for language learners! 

(Also, a reminder that fart jokes are universal).

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In today’s show, we’ll start right at the beginning, IMHO: your identity, or your sense of self.

As Simon Sinek famously said once or 400 times, you need to start with why when learning anything, especially a language. What are you looking to get out of it, and where are you lacking?

Specifically:

· Where are you holding yourself back?

· How does your perception of yourself hold you back in life?

We use language to make sense and identify our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This makes up part of our sense of self… and when you change one variable, hang on!