I have been trying to learn Spanish, which grammar-wise is very complicated 
.
In the process I am beginning to confuse my English 
(esp plurals vs singular, masculine vs feminine). It’s similar to when I switch from Filipino to English to Ibanag (dialect) — my brain often “short-circuits” in the transition 
My Spanish teacher studies neuro-linguistics and is very passionate with how language is a huge factor in how we see the world.
She explains that in a way….Spanish is an “emotional language” which caters to/expresses the way Spanish-speaking countries often see the world, very much in emotions and feelings.
Meanwhile, English is a more “organized” language and caters to that “control and order” mentality of its origin. You can see this in how sentences are structured and how grammar rules develop.
It reminded me of how when we were in Japan. Did you know that the Japanese language has 3 (!!!!!!) *types* of alphabets — it means thousands of letters!?! Versus 26 letters in the English alphabet
Imagine how all this changes a person’s brain development + way of seeing life. Imagine how all this influences how a person sees things and views the world. Imagine how this can condition us to be a certain way.
It also reminded me of the movie “Arrival” (2016) *SO good! — when an “alien” force wanted to communicate to us, we first had to “learn” their language, and it posed a real problem because their language showed that the way they looked at time was not linear (past, present, future) but completely mind-blowingly different!!!!!!! Most human language revolves around our idea of time — past, present, future tenses…. Etc, etc, etc.
We are living in a time where we have more awareness of each other. It also means an awareness of how incredibly different we all are. So different that it’s scary, so different that it’s frustrating, so different that it feels endless and bottomless, and how the hell can society work like this?
But in that difference — as complex and as important those are — I believe the essence of every human, at the core, is the same.
Language, ultimately, was created/formed as a tool to communicate. Because it *is* in our essence to express.
May we not lose sight of what are human tools and what is the human essence.
Language was made for man, not man for language. Work was made for man, not man for work. Politics was made for man, not man for politics.
Our tools are so very different and diverse. And instead of fear and frustration (which is kinda a normal knee-jerk reaction), may we move forward and beyond… + see the beauty in our differences, see it as a testament to the capability of humans to learn and relearn, to reimagine and recreate.
Hold our *essence* to the forefront of everything… and I have a lot of hope that we will be just fine.
The universe is expanding to some, the universe is contracting to others. Are we drifting farther apart or shrinking closer together? So many questions, what’s the essence — Life, maybe. We have life. We embody life. And maybe life always does both? Contract, expand — like our very own heartbeat. 
Hold your essence above all the noise. Hold your neighbor’s essence above all the smoke. Then let’s celebrate the good news: In our essence, there is no losing. In our essence, we’ve already won.
