The paradigm for the parable is the story of Adam and Eve. In the book of Genesis, God created Adam as one androgynous being with a complete soul of his own. Then he split Adam in half, creating man and woman, who each possessed half a soul. Only when joined together could they recreate their original wholeness. Adam and Eve, the progenitors of humankind, were the original soul mates- the first blueprint. Plato also advanced the idea of a soul mate. "Platonic love" is not asexual love, as it is commonly understood, but rather the spiritual attraction of one soul to its original mate. Plato considered it the highest form of human love. Some people also describe a "treasury of souls" where souls harmoniously contain both masculine and feminine properties. When a soul decides to inhabit a body- which is the only way it can accomplish its destiny- it must split in two and become a man or a woman. These people believe that, although our soul's purpose is never completely revealed to us, one of the soul's driving forces is to connect with its other half.
Then again, Adam and Eve weren't exactly faced with a wide array of choices. How can we know if we have met out soul mate? Are there any clues? Some people say, "I just know." Sometimes a couple's chemistry is unmistakable-- an intangible connection that transcends physical attraction, almost like a sixth sense. But for many of us, despite the intensity of our romantic feelings, such a clear sense of destiny or fate is missing, and in fact we can never be completely certain. But we learn to listen closer to our instincts and to trust out inner sense. At first glance, our lives may appear to be a series of unrelated events, without purpose, without direction. But if we look back and dissect the pieces of the puzzle, we see that the events that brought us to the present day are more significant than they seemed. What if I never went to that party? What if I didn't miss that plane? What if I wouldn't have eaten lunch at that diner? Individually, these are just tiny details, holding nothing like the weight of destiny. But linked together, they form the quiet miracles that shape and direct our lives, and which we can come to recognize if we pay attention.
We all hope, one day, to meet that special person, the one who seems made just for us. If we've been in a lot of relationships and have yet to find the one where our heart says yes, we may begin to feel despair, feeling we are doomed to be alone. Don't ever be afraid to love someone, just because you've been hurt before. If that describes you, take heart. Destiny may be right next to you and you just don't see it yet.
Then again, Adam and Eve weren't exactly faced with a wide array of choices. How can we know if we have met out soul mate? Are there any clues? Some people say, "I just know." Sometimes a couple's chemistry is unmistakable-- an intangible connection that transcends physical attraction, almost like a sixth sense. But for many of us, despite the intensity of our romantic feelings, such a clear sense of destiny or fate is missing, and in fact we can never be completely certain. But we learn to listen closer to our instincts and to trust out inner sense. At first glance, our lives may appear to be a series of unrelated events, without purpose, without direction. But if we look back and dissect the pieces of the puzzle, we see that the events that brought us to the present day are more significant than they seemed. What if I never went to that party? What if I didn't miss that plane? What if I wouldn't have eaten lunch at that diner? Individually, these are just tiny details, holding nothing like the weight of destiny. But linked together, they form the quiet miracles that shape and direct our lives, and which we can come to recognize if we pay attention.
We all hope, one day, to meet that special person, the one who seems made just for us. If we've been in a lot of relationships and have yet to find the one where our heart says yes, we may begin to feel despair, feeling we are doomed to be alone. Don't ever be afraid to love someone, just because you've been hurt before. If that describes you, take heart. Destiny may be right next to you and you just don't see it yet.
