letting go, of 2007

we went to three different and i mean different new year parties yesterday. first, to the minneapolis zen center for a 30 min zazen period followed by a potluck dinner (where our "red" and "green" potato curries were too hot for most minnesotans though). we then swapped poetry- mostly rumi and dogen. then we did something interesting. someone had brought some magic paper, which upon setting fire, literally vanished into thin air, like the table tennis balls we used to set fire to as kids. we then wrote on this piece of paper all the things we wanted to let go off from 2007 and set fire to it, literally letting-it-go. it is hard to believe 2007 is gone, over. it all seems a blur.

the next two parties were an american and a desi party respectively. there was the de rigeur uncorking of the champagne bottle and the new year welcoming (luckily no one counted down).

new scrabble word: auxetic. as he was uncorking the bubbly, sanat enlightened us of this interesting property some materials have of thickening when stretched (due to negative poisson's ratio) and that cork was the only natural auxetic material. cool eh?

here is a beautiful poem by rumi translated by coleman barks and john moyne which cal recited after dinner -


The clear bead at the center changes everything.
There are no edges to my loving now.
I've heard it said there's a window that opens
from one mind to another,
but if there's no wall, there's no need
for fitting the window, or the latch.