Soul Searching

Do you believe that people can have more than one soul mate? Do you believe that they come along when we really need them, if we’re lucky enough to get them or maybe because we happen to be ready for them? Is a soul mate just someone you connect with on that most intimate of levels or is it the title to be bestowed on that one and only person who was made to be with you? That other half to which you seek reunion in order to make your life complete. All interesting questions that are apparently without answers. Most of us do have opinions though.

Some people like to think that it must be possible to have more than one soul mate as it would increase the odds of their actually finding one. Given how many people are on the planet, I’m not sure the so-called odds become any more manageable if that is the case but it could be considered a comforting thought. It also opens the door for widowers to meet another love of their life perhaps a second time around without diminishing the affection and emotion they felt for their first partner. Just as there are advantages to this point of view however, for the religious at least, there are a few problems.

If you believe in heaven and that lovers can be reunited in the after life, what happens when the one who was first left behind loves again? Is there any such thing as ‘the other woman’ on that ethereal plane or is this a non-issue beyond our comprehension? Is each person’s eternity merely an alternate, for want of a better word, reality and it all works out best for the individual somehow? Whatever the case may be, I tend to think that maybe there isn’t just one person for each of us and that the world is full of possibilities.

I recently heard soul mates described as two people prepared to bare their souls to each other. I rather like this explanation. True love can exist, as can soul mates, but it hints at the idea that we are responsible for our own happiness and that we have to give to receive in return. Opening yourself up to another is not necessarily an easy thing to do and this could also describe why some people are not able or not willing to risk themselves a second time. It happens to fit in with a vague idea I have had for a while as well.

So much of who we are is a testament to where we’ve been. As we experience new things, our perceptions change and many would agree that relationships require not only the right person, but the right time as well. I kind of like the idea that the world is full of possible connections and that if you are in the right place at the right time, you will get an opportunity. Certainly, there are those of us who actively go looking for these opportunities as well as others who merely fall into them but its occasionally nice to think that they are all out there to be had.