Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Do you define or constrict?

It’s funny how I find things funny. Funny at times because no one else seems to find it funny. Human nature in itself is funny to me-the way we act and respond to the situations and how each of us deals and gives a personal touch and definitions to them.
Human nature continues to amaze me- the imperative need to label and give name and meaning and definition to each thing. Best friend, holiday, death, betrayal, trust….Are we really better off with this so called ever growing development and civilization? Has this smartness compared to other animals made us a better survivor or has it created more complexities to survive? Labeling and defining makes identification easier but sometimes do we really need an Identification? At times are we not happy just to let it be and not be constricted by the boundaries of definition? Where do you have a boundary when your mother is your best friend? Where do you have a boundary when your lover becomes your worst enemy? If labeling and identifying was so important why is it that the very nature of the thing that we try to label is dynamic in itself? What’s the use of giving me a name and changing it so often as the situation /role/proximity changes? Am I not better off if you don’t label me at all?
One might argue identification makes an individual unique, be it a noun or adjective. But thinking about it, don’t you think the words actually constrict the subject/object in question? That the word doesn’t quite well describe the multidimensional attributes? And do we really believe that there is anything unique in this world at all? People come and go, things have substitutes and replacements. In this sense no one is unique in itself. We, the perceivers, perceive it as unique because of the familiarity and attachment we have created with the subject/object. And this, my friend can be changed if we try and create the same with the other subject/object. Now not willing to do this is entirely a different thing.
Does a guy really need to say I love you, you are my girlfriend, and we are in a relationship? Does just saying so guarantee the claim is true? Do we call someone a best friend just because we shared our highs and lows and confided our deepest secrets? Who defines the criteria for best friend and is it really essential to tick all the boxes? If it is so, then don’t you think our life is merely a Mathematical formula based on the criterion?Now the dictionary defines the words, gives meaning to each but shouldn’t we consider the fact that dictionary is created, edited and regulated by a group of people? And it changes as the situation, society and way of living changes. Aren’t we all aware of how many new words have been added to the dictionary because of how people have been using it frequently in particular scenarios?
Now, I don’t even know why I am writing this or what I am trying to prove. It’s just something that struck me in my thoughts and I want to share/question the very existence of the system of definitions.
Do we really need it?


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