Dear friends, 

Hope you all are well. As Jack Kornfield says, after the ecstasy comes the 
laundry. Much as the election of Obama was joyous to many of us who 
supported him, now comes the hard work. I spent two days of little sleep 
and much tv after the election, and now it is back to mathematics, 
meditation and nature. I am sure you are busy, too. Please write when you 
can.

Yours
Sankar  

P.S: If this is the first time you are getting this email I wrote about my 
experiences on election day and the days leading to it in 
http://geocities.com/sankarx/writings/stories/election-thoughts.doc 
Speaking of  nature I also wrote a poem about autumn in Washington 
(http://geocities.com/sankarx/writings/poems/autumn.txt ).

Random Thoughts (67)
11/12/2008

1. From what little I know a poet or writer is like a diamond jeweler. You 
mine your thoughts deep and for a long time. Eventually you stumble upon 
some gems. Then you polish them and polish them, cutting them as long as 
necessary until you have a stone perfect from all angles, a joy to behold. 

2. Sacrifice is an important aspect in all of life. I have long wondered 
whether eating eggs constitutes taking a life. I try to eat ones that are 
sterile, but nevertheless I have to say this is something I do with 
reservations, in the same category as killing the mice, mosquitoes and 
other harmful insects that wander into my house. Not to make an excuse for 
it, but by producing eggs the fowl are actually ensuring the survival and 
success of their species. Even among humans many sacrifice their lives, 
either in war or in service of others in different ways. This almost 
always is in the hope that the community or country survives. When you 
look at the whole universe as one organism, the sacrifice of one life in 
the service of others starts to make sense. But thank God we don't have 
much of the ritual sacrifices that our ancestors used to practice.

3. For a long time I have been trying to make my classes more fun, be more 
relaxed with the students. It is a hard thing to do for me. Lately I have 
been having a little bit of success now and then in making them laugh. But 
it seems to me they enjoy more laughing at my awkwardness. In my last 
class I misunderstood what this girl said and said something that was 
totally unconnected. The girl who is only sixteen burst out laughing 
uncontrollably. "You are goofy," she added for good measure. So now I know 
what to do. I am going to turn my goofiness to my advantage. The trick is 
to do that without losing the seriousness for the subject being taught.

4. My four nephews are growing up now, becoming more articulate and their 
personalities are getting more well-defined. Each one has his own 
personality. The eldest is a poet and an artist. The second oldest is a 
thinker with grand ambitions. The third is a non-stop talker, socialite 
and comedian. The youngest is only four and still developing, but from the 
looks of it he is a sportsman and a bit of a punk.