The Truth about Soul Mates

Not long ago, I wrote a post on soul mates.

Whether or not they exist...

Whether or not it matters...

Whether or not you could be content with a myriad of different people throughout your life...

Or is there just one person that your soul longs to spend eternity with?

It generated some buzz.

I got messages from readers indicating that soul mates are a farce....that they are a Halmark fiction...that they ruin the good work that people put into their unions that are flawed by nature because we're all human beings.

Others said that they believed in the power of one person who they can't shake has indelibly changed their lives...and for those, it wasn't the person that they are with today.  Not short changing the person they picked just simply recognizing that someone at sometime changed their trajectory.

Ruminating on this, I found this passage from one of my favorite books "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.

A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master.


And so I ask, who shakes you up?  Who breaks your heart wide open and takes you to that uncomfortable place and makes you a better you?

Who loves you more than life itself and by virtue gets under your skin like no other can?  Who shows you the beautiful, the ugly and takes you to the dangerous spots that make you feel alive?  And who are you grateful came into your life briefly or who walks by you daily mirroring the true you?

Soul Mates?

One of my favorite movies is "Serendipity."

You know, the 2001 flick that stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale.  Okay, if you don't, below is a clip.

The movie centers around the concept that all of life is fated...that destiny is real and that certain people, against all odds, were meant to be together.

So, the other day, I was talking to a girlfriend about soul mates...whether we believed in them...whether people randomly connected and chose to make lives with one another....whether you could essentially be happy with a myriad of partners over the course of your life...or whether there was just one person that you were truly intended to (throughout all of eternity) share your soul with.

Heady, silly, probably pointless banter, I know...but an interesting philosophical conundrum.  Especially when you factor in all of the crazy circumstances like becoming a widow, getting a divorce, or stumbling upon another.

The jury is still out for me.  I guess I just love the desperation and sweetness of John Cusack and of course, the beauty and namesake of Kate Beckinsale.