Soul mates & Sole mates

Soul mates

I think a soul mate is a friend you feel was just meant to happen, whether it be the context in which you met, the simplicity of the relationship, or the possibilities created from your bonds.

I looked up the origin of soul mates among different fields of belief.

The Symposium is a philosophical text by Greek Philosopher Plato dated c. 385–380 BC. It examines love in a series of speeches by men attending a symposium or drinking party.

Well, these boys were deep thinkers. The play concerns itself at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love (the soul mate theory) and, at another, with the nature of knowledge: How do we know what we know?

In this soul mate myth, there were three different kinds of human creatures: men, woman and individuals with both sexes. Humans originally each had four arms, four legs, two faces, four ears and two sets of genitalia. Got the visual?

Apparently, we humans became arrogant and began to question whether we might take the place of the gods. The gods, of course, were horrified. Finally, after some debate, Zeus split them (us) in half, rendering them (us) less powerful and condemning us to spend our lives yearning for the other half to complete us. Cool dude!

To provide comfort, Zeus allowed us to have sexual intercourse with another half.The creatures who had been only male, sought out another male. The females, sought out a female. The creatures with both sexes, sought out the opposite sex half.

In Judeo-Christian soul mate theory, God fashions an adrogynous creature containing both sexes (in his own image), which comprises the essence of spirit. God then decides to give this spirit a ‘living soul’ and creates Adam, and then his female ‘half’ Eve out of his rib.

In Hinduism soul mate theory, the universal soul becomes conscious of itself, desire companionship, and therefore brings forth from its own Being the male and the female.

No wonder many of us feel as if we’re missing a piece of ourselves. We’ve been conditioned for thousands of years to believe it!

But guess what? Tending to this belief only does one thing: it keeps you from finding your own power. And, it keeps you from finding your soul mate(s).

When I was little I thought you were destined for one soul mate to spend your time with. And for some that’s the case. Depending how open you are to different situations you could have many soul mates throughout your life.

Throughout history, humanity’s search for wholeness has been depicted in soul mate theory, plus deepened through myth, fairy tale, legend and the ‘romantic ideas’ of our time.

It is the story of the prince’s search for the woman who wears the glass slipper in Cinderella. It’s the perfect kiss that brings Sleeping Beauty to life.

It’s Cupid’s arrow. It’s Beauty’s love that causes the Beast to be transformed. It is the legends of frog princes and the need for Romeos to be with Juliets.

Soulmates to me are different than friends in an indescribable way and I certainly believe you can have more than one as opposed to much of the beliefs I discussed earlier. My first soul mate was determine because of proximity. Literally was placed next to me in the crib. We didn’t have to become friends and stay friends but somehow we managed. Our relationship is kind of like a plant. It’s very natural and so real. When we were little we did everything together – we didn’t have enough sunlight so it faded out but chances and reasons became that we were to remain friends.

As I grew a bit, I bloomed a bit socially and created some great relationships. I didn’t have another friend like the last until I started middle school. When I say started middle school, I mean first day. I remember it so vividly, the teacher isolated her and myself in a back corner computer class. Immediately we started gabbing on and on and were instantly connected at the hip – for the duration of the next three years. When middle school ended, we only became closer through ridiculous amounts of volleyball practices and even when those days ended, our friendship remained steady and ever-blossoming. We grew up together, and as we grow individually and learn more about ourselves, it only brings us closer. When we return to one another after x amount of time our strong roots thrives. Undoubtedly, she is a mate for my soul and always will be through the test of time and distance.

Some soulmates, however, are only meant to rip your little heart into pieces (for a while). They are placed to teach life lessons and to experience the opposite spectrum of life. As much as you wish and want to still sit with their souls because of the general feeling they once gave you, the connection is forced to end for whatever reason. I once dated a guy and as we grew up, our paths grew far apart. Even though, every time I see him still a part of my being feels something that is not easily reproduced, it just wasn’t meant to continue. And that’s okay. A part of learning about yourself is letting go and accepting change wholeheartedly.

My point is, people come and go in your life. Root yourself to yourself and people meant for your soul will come to you. You can only hope the relationships grow positively over time; put your energy into working on your best self.

Me working on my best self involves giving myself to helping others. Hence, the second part of this bloggin’

Solemates

While attending college @ PITT, I became very involved in recycling. Partially because I only shopped at a Thrift store for most of my life, and partially because I hoarded my cheap little finds to the point of wanting to donate all (most) of them. I was regretting walking to the computer lab one day so took a long route I wouldn’t normally take. I found a box that read: Recycle your shoes – find your solemate. The concept was to send decent shoes to people around the world who had very little. I quickly went home and wrote letters to each stranger. I returned to school the next day with at least 15 pairs and 15 encouraging hello notes to go along with the shoes. Additionally, I helped gather 14 bags of clothes for donations through the course of my senior year. It was a really rewarding experience and I encourage you to get involved in the ways that you feel fit you best!

http://www.soletosoulfoundation.org/about.html