Thursday 31 May 2012

Finding the Right Name.

It’s interesting how much a person’s name is an integral part of who they are, and so how much it informs our perception of them.

Helen, my ex and the person I’m probably closest to in this life (well actually, the priestess has confused the matter, but let’s leave her out of it for now) has decided that her name ‘just doesn’t fit any more,’ and so she’s changing it to Melanie Grace. As a result, the very foundation of my perception of her is being shaken. I don’t think it will fall down, but it’s being shaken. And here’s the interesting bit:

Helen is very much a ‘light’ person. She wants nothing in her life that isn’t light; she consciously declines to have anything to do with the dark side. Dark is anathema to the person formerly known as Helen, so here’s the question:

Should I tell her that the name ‘Melanie’ derives from the Greek for black or dark?

8 comments:

andrea kiss said...

I do think you should tell her that.

JJ said...

So do I, on balance.It just seems a shame because she's been looking for a new name for a while now, and she's so pleased to have found one that she likes.

Anthropomorphica said...

I think it's a good balance, light and dark!

JJ said...

That's what I thought, Mel. But, of course, there's a philosophical argument around the question of what light and dark are, and whether the concept of balance is strictly appropriate.

And I've realised that your new picture has a certain dark power about it. I think that's the essence of its appeal.

Anthropomorphica said...

Glad the darkness appeals, I wonder at time what lies beneath. Yes, absolutely , is duality a Christian construct.Light and dark to me is the same and the whole.

JJ said...

For a long time I favoured the notion that dark was a subjective concept describing a perceived and relative lack of light, in the same way that 'cold' is a perceived lack of heat. Now I don't know - like I don't know anything.

Anthropomorphica said...

Dark is far from a lack, I see it as the beginning of all.Do any of us know?!

JJ said...

But if dark is the beginning, wouldn't the natural course be to move away from it in order to progress?