The Namesake

I am half-way through the book 'The Namesake'. So, what's in a name? I haven't finished reading the book yet. But, at this stage, I am confused as to whether or not I should feel bad for Gogol, for his name. Why does he make such a big deal out of it? On certain occassions, it is because people really are being mean to him about his name. But on others, it is plainly because he cares so much about what they have to think about it, the truth being they dont really care.

All of us worry, at some point or the other, about what the rest of the world has to think about us. Some of us are doing it constantly, so that it has got ingrained into our sub-consciences. We then aren't ourselves, we are what we want the world to think we are. I understand that one has to keep in mind the aftermath of his/her actions; one has to be responsible for them. So, it is wise and advisable to think before you act. But, how far can one carry this precaution? Is it the fear of these responsibilities that is preventing us from being ourselves? Or is it just the need for mass approval, the need to be in everybody's or certain people's good books?

How many of us are true to ourselves? Boy! It takes so much courage to just be who you are!

Speech...

Is there any 'speech' more beautiful than the incomprehensible blabber of a baby?

The language of nature...

This was a long time ago...

I went for a walk in the campus. It was such a glorious day – seemed like the advent of spring. The sun had almost set when I started walking. Twilight was descending. I walked east, towards the lake. I took the road north of Tech, a road that I hadn’t taken before. I went around Cook, past the football ground and the library, towards the lake. There was absolutely no sound of humans once I crossed the bridge. All I could hear was the beating of the waves against the rocks, the singing of birds, the cackling of geese, and the slow whistle of the wind.

To the South was the awesome view of downtown Chicago. The vastness and the beauty of nature lay immediately in front of me, while man’s genius, in the form of mind-blowing architecture, lay beyond. I saw a couple of flights at a distance, looking down upon their ancestors, the birds. Man sure does learn from nature. But, what does he give back to it? I wonder…

I turned left to see the seemingly endless lake and the golden horizon. I sat down on the rocks to admire this breathtaking beauty, meanwhile trying to fathom the significance of the various sounds around me. What was it that the water was trying to tell me? The birds are conveying something very important; the wind is tirelessly singing a song. What is that they are trying to communicate to us? Will humanity ever be able to comprehend it?

As I was pondering over these thoughts, I suddenly felt a sense of loneliness that I had never felt before; and a sense of oneness (with nature) that I had never felt before. Darkness was descending and the wind was getting colder. I decided to go back home.

Now, which was home? I knew not the answer…

My first post!

Yes... this is my first post! All excited, am I? Well, not really. More relieved than excited. Relieved that I was finally able to decide on a name for my blogsite. Why does every name I can think of already exist? Do thoughts travel? And do they reach me after passing through every head? After trying out various permutations and combinations, I decided to just add that extra 'o'.... "Soo-far-away"... for that extra effect! :D