“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” – Aristotle
Whether you believe in ‘soulmates’ or not, we are all undoubtedly looking to find people that we connect with on a deeper level. We meet so many different people throughout our lives, some that we get on very well with, some that we’d happily never see again, and a special few that we feel an emotional and spiritual connection to. These people are what would typically be described as our soulmates. They transcend the usual friendship archetype to form an other-worldly bond that can only be truly understood when it is felt.
Soulmate Love can be romantic or platonic, but neither type are a one off deal. We can find it many times throughout our life and there will be brief encounters where we meet someone whose soul instantly connects with ours. You might feel like you’ve known the person forever when you only have known them for a short time, you might share a lot in common and have similar interests, likes and dislikes, or you might share the exact same sense of humour. Whatever it is, something makes your relationship with this person different to your relationships with other people. You understand each other without need for words or communication, you just know what the other person is feeling or thinking.
Soulmates can often be found in your immediate family, your parents or siblings who share the same genetic code and who you have spent an entire lifetime with, a lifetime filled with memories and history. The familial bond is often unbreakable, an unconditional love that prevents us from disliking or hating each other regardless of unruly actions or misbehaviour, and forgiveness is something that comes automatically and without question (even if it takes a bit longer sometimes).
The love that is found in families gives us some insight into what can be considered soulmate love – friendship, feelings, caring for one another, common ground, and, most importantly, unconditional love. To love without condition is a rare and difficult find, it is an unselfish act and something that is not always easy to put into practice outside of family ties. When you find a person, whether a friend or a lover, who you care about almost more than you care about yourself, who you don’t ever want to see hurt or unhappy, and who you would make sacrifices for even if it is at your own peril, you may have found a soulmate.
The soul is usually the word we give to the things that we cannot attribute to the mind or body. The human soul or spirit is a complicated thing, we all have different personalities which largely depend on how our brains are wired, but there are aspects of human beings that go beyond science or biology. The things that make us ourselves, all the quirks, traits and characteristics that seem to exist spiritually more so than mentally, are all the things that potentially make up our soul, and what will attract similar souls to us. It transcends the physical and external elements and is far more concerned with our emotional and psychological selves. Finding a soulmate, therefore, can only be achieved once we are in touch with who we are internally. Find yourself first and finding your soulmate will be a far easier quest.
