You see, in the play mentioned above, Juliet uses this question to assert that names are actually meaningless - they are simply how we label and organize the world around us. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," she says with sagacity disproportionate to her teenage years (and frankly, "teenage idiocy" might be accurate, too). On one hand, of course, she's correct. If I called a rose a taco, it wouldn't smell like a taco - it would still smell like a rose. If I called you Matthew, that wouldn't make you my buddy I met in Germany (unless, of course, you're reading this currently, Matthew). The very essence of what we are is not determined by what we are called.
So why do we put so much importance on names? We do it all the time. That crazy concoction you and your roommates made for a late night meal deserves a memorable label (such as "the Masserole"). Pets have to have the name that fits them just perfectly. As soon as you get the ultrasound image showing whether you're going to have a baby girl or a baby boy, immediately your mind goes into "name brainstorming" mode. If names don't really determine what we are, why do we obsess over them, occasionally with frustrating, fanatical effort? It's not going to change what you are. You're still going to be a human being.
See, this is the kind of stuff I mull over in my mind. It's insane, I know. Nobody in their right mind thinks this hard about something as simple as the tradition of naming. I only started considering these things because I've been having difficulty thinking about what I wanted to call this blog. I mean, a blog's not serious writing - not in my case, anyway. In truth, there will probably only be a few people who ever see this blog. And yet I've spent the better part of 3 or 4 nights proposing names to myself and systematically scratching them off my mental list. I've struggled to find something that would describe just what I wanted to say about the content of these posts.
As I strained my brain to find something fitting, I saw the question of "why we name" from a new perspective. Certainly, what we're called won't change what we are. But our personal names - the ones we give to children, to pets, to things personal to us - might those have an influence on who we are? My name is Caleb. It's of biblical origin, and means "bulldog", or "loyal". I don't know if I'm either of those things; but I know that in 6th grade I looked up the name in the Encyclopedia Britannica. And then I looked up the stories of Caleb in the books of Numbers and Joshua. I wanted, in some way, to live up to the name I was given. And so I try, in my little faltering ways, to be like Caleb in the Bible. I try to be a loyal friend. I consider how being like a bulldog might in some mystifying way improve me as a person (still no definitive answer on that one). I believe that, perhaps, our names give us more definition than Juliet might have believed. They don't change what we inherently are; but they give us something to strive toward, a model upon which we might consider building our character. In that way, our names describe us.
And so, I present to you, friends, my blog: "Discussions with Myself". The name is imperfect. But I hope that here, you'll get a better idea of who I am, what goes on in my life, and maybe learn a little about how this all affects what goes on in that crazy, random brain in my skull.
And I hope that, eventually, the name will fit the thoughts I express here.
So why do we put so much importance on names? We do it all the time. That crazy concoction you and your roommates made for a late night meal deserves a memorable label (such as "the Masserole"). Pets have to have the name that fits them just perfectly. As soon as you get the ultrasound image showing whether you're going to have a baby girl or a baby boy, immediately your mind goes into "name brainstorming" mode. If names don't really determine what we are, why do we obsess over them, occasionally with frustrating, fanatical effort? It's not going to change what you are. You're still going to be a human being.
See, this is the kind of stuff I mull over in my mind. It's insane, I know. Nobody in their right mind thinks this hard about something as simple as the tradition of naming. I only started considering these things because I've been having difficulty thinking about what I wanted to call this blog. I mean, a blog's not serious writing - not in my case, anyway. In truth, there will probably only be a few people who ever see this blog. And yet I've spent the better part of 3 or 4 nights proposing names to myself and systematically scratching them off my mental list. I've struggled to find something that would describe just what I wanted to say about the content of these posts.
As I strained my brain to find something fitting, I saw the question of "why we name" from a new perspective. Certainly, what we're called won't change what we are. But our personal names - the ones we give to children, to pets, to things personal to us - might those have an influence on who we are? My name is Caleb. It's of biblical origin, and means "bulldog", or "loyal". I don't know if I'm either of those things; but I know that in 6th grade I looked up the name in the Encyclopedia Britannica. And then I looked up the stories of Caleb in the books of Numbers and Joshua. I wanted, in some way, to live up to the name I was given. And so I try, in my little faltering ways, to be like Caleb in the Bible. I try to be a loyal friend. I consider how being like a bulldog might in some mystifying way improve me as a person (still no definitive answer on that one). I believe that, perhaps, our names give us more definition than Juliet might have believed. They don't change what we inherently are; but they give us something to strive toward, a model upon which we might consider building our character. In that way, our names describe us.
And so, I present to you, friends, my blog: "Discussions with Myself". The name is imperfect. But I hope that here, you'll get a better idea of who I am, what goes on in my life, and maybe learn a little about how this all affects what goes on in that crazy, random brain in my skull.
And I hope that, eventually, the name will fit the thoughts I express here.
Caleb I think that this is awesome! I felt this way a few months ago when Brooklyn got all gung hoe on me with names. But then i got to thinking about the new name we get in the temple and the importance of having names. Sure it might not change what we are but it doe affect who we are and in the temples case if we can get in or not. Our names help distinguish us from the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteAny way love the blog, you should check our ours out it's not really going anywhere yet but it's fun. We call it "The Whitton word" and I'll get the link to you when Brooklyn gets home. Count me in as one maybe the first of your viewers!