Making it a habit

I think I mentioned that Say Eow came to dinner last night. It was nice to see him, and particularly interesting to listen to how he works with his students. He looks at them individually, assessing each one's abilities and capacity for prodding. He knows that not every one of them will respond equally well to being driven forward; some need gentler encouragement than others.

What he's trying to develop in them is a habit of practice - maybe that's redundant. Isn't practice actually habitual? At any rate, you know how that all works and how it took time and different levels of encouragement before you really developed a pattern of practice.

I'd say that habits start small. That's why I want to encourage you to start reading for pleasure. Even if it's just 10 minutes a night, the habit you'll build will serve you well throughout your life. There is something soothing and enriching about going to bed after a stressful or tiring day and reading about a whole other universe - maybe filled with different problems, maybe full of joy and resolution.

Whatever, I hope that this is one habit you'll start to nurture. You've done so well developing others, and I believe that they've given you pleasure.

BTW, Hilary (Indrani's mom) just had her bone marrow transplant and it looks like it went very well. It's really a miracle, not only that she's alive, but also that she has come so far.