Getting Personal: The new look

I have always valued personal space and I am uncomfortable with people getting too close to me unless I allow them to. I have always valued personal space immensely and I (believe ) have tired to respect others' personal space as well. People often misunderstand it as a certain "aloofness" or lack of empathy etc. But that is simply not the case in most cases. I have been an extremely independent person all my life and I believe in the human spirit of independence and self-reliance, something to do with having the world to oneself and weaving one's own life, painting one's own canvas. I think it draws its nutrition from the "id"  part of my human mind as described by Sigmund Freud, the wild side, the instinct, the gut-feel, the "hard wired" human nature. To that extent I can relate to the American way of life which values personal freedom , adventure and independence. My aloofness is borne out of this desire for valuing personal space. This particular point of view is not so well understood and respected in India and most parts of the world which are highly social in nature. I have been very unsocial if not anti-social throughout my adolescent years and early adulthood, so much so that I find it hard to be social in my prime adulthood now. Coming back to the point therefore, I very much get uncomfortable about people showing undue concern. As I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I see some merit, rather necessity in having a social life." Man is a social animal', I remember reading and hearing so many times. I do not know how much of it is really "hard-wired" and how much acquired. Innumerable hours in front of television watching national geographic channel and discovery has meant that I can't help but draw analogies that relate everything "human"  with everything "natural" or wild.  A tiger for instance is a lonely beast while a lion apparently a social feline. My implicit assumption is that wild-life is pure, it is natural and at some level below our social garb we are as wild and as natural as anyone else in the animal kingdom.  Therefore, I think I belong to the tiger-like species whereas the rest belong to the lion-like species. Both are equally good in their own right, both survive in the wild and both thrive in their own den. 

Well beyond the tiger-lion digression though is the original objective of writing this blog and that is the new look that I have had which has grabbed unwanted attention. Here is the sneak peek...