Soulmates- Part 1?

*****Okay folks, we're back to a themed week!  I've been putting this one off for a bit, but we'll be chatting on the theme of "love" this time around.  Woohoo!****


Before I started writing this, I decided to look up the "definition" of soulmate, to see if my personal definition was way off from what others believe.  Thankfully, the first article I read was somewhat close to my supposition.  The second one left me with a frown.

In this post I'm going to discuss the "classic" or "spiritual" definitions of soulmate, the ones which encompass the finding of one's "other half."  I might briefly touch on some other variants, but, since this week's theme is about love, we're mainly sticking with the ones I mentioned.  This may be split into two separate posts, because I fear it's going to be long, even by my standards.

First off, I'm going to put this out there immediately.  I hate when people describe their mate or partner as a "soulmate."  I think the word is wantonly used, it is incorrectly defined, it is offensive to my sensibilities, and, if it is true, it is completely unnecessary to announce its existence openly.  I feel that often it is thrown in as some expected, common adjective when one is attempting to describe their partner.

"Oh, Bob is funny, he's charming, he loves dogs, he's caring, he's my soulmate, he enjoys black bean salad...."

Yeah.

There are likely many hours of discussion to be had as to whether we all have just one soulmate, or whether there are infinite numbers of soulmates available in our lifetime/s.  I'm really trying to hold back on the sarcasm here, but, unless I'm wrong, we only have one soul.  We may or may not have several lifetimes, but the soul remains static throughout.

Now, if we go by the whole Greek mythology thing (the story which relates that humans were originally made with 2 heads, 4 arms, etc., they were split apart by Zeus, and "condemned" to spend their lives searching for their other half), it would seem obvious that there can only be one match for the original other half.  If I split an isosceles triangle in half, no matter what I do, attaching half a square is not going to turn it back into the original, whole, isosceles triangle.  It might look pretty or unique, or enjoy black and white movies together, but it won't be the original, real deal.

To me, as the saying goes, there can only be One.

Now, I know there are a lot of huffy people out there, regarding this statement.

"Well that's not right.  What if your One is living in another country? The World is too big!"
"I don't believe that.  What if the person dies?  You're saying you can't ever be happy with someone else after that?"
"That's just ridiculous.  I've had at least 3 soulmates in the past 10 years."

My snarky reply is, "you're huffy because you know that deep down inside, you agree with me, and you're kind of wondering if maybe you're missing out on something."
But, since I really should avoid being snarky, I will just say that we'll have to agree to disagree on this matter.  
I will also say that you should do a little research before you go claiming that every Tom, Dick and Harry are your One.

Now, I'm not saying that people who get along really well and are very attuned to each other can't be soulmates.  That very well could be.  But I suspect that that may be the exception, rather than the rule.  To me, a soulmate reunion precipitates an internal "click," an absolute knowledge that the other One has been discovered.  It's the really, really, not related to our naughty bits, big version of "instant attraction," and it lasts your lifetime (and perhaps, Beyond).

I'm also not saying that a person can't be supremely happy with someone who may not happen to be their actual soulmate.  If a person is happy in his or her relationship, that's a beautiful thing.  But, I mean, really and truly happy.  If one day you're describing your partner as your soulmate, and two years later you're complaining that you never have sex, or that s/he is more interested in the computer/dog/garden/coworker than you, or that you're wondering what attracted you in the first place, I'm guessing (wildly here, I know) that the "soulmate" description was an inaccurate one.  Yes, of course, we all have our doubting moments and difficult stages, but a common attraction to pineapples and baroque music do not a soulmate reunion make.  It's more than that.

Having said that, if you're still huffy, go watch "What Dreams May Come."

Or, as shocked as I am to say this, read this, from urbandictionary.  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=soulmate