A Theory on Soul Mates...

"A true friend is one soul in two bodies." -Aristotle

I have a theory on soulmates...what if the universe provides countless of soulmates in one's lifetime. I am not using the word "soulmate" in traditional terms here...

There is a most beautiful and phenomenal person I have met at work. She has the warmest and most brilliant smile. The first time we met, I knew we were instantly friends. And it wasn't long after a brief luncheon, that we discovered we had a lot in common. I would dare call her one of my soulmates.

Last week I said goodbye to a soulmate from another lifetime... When I was 20 he was my soulmate... I grew up sheltered and he showed me how my soul is a lot more adventurous and spunky than I ever believed I could be...but I am now twenty-eight and a hundred years older it feels...no longer the person I was before...

I met a most beautiful friend on my way to India...she is without a doubt a soulmate for life! She planted a seed that grew into a banyan tree and I am forever a better person for having met her... Lost and isolated she taught me another way to live... My roots grew deeper and because of her I am becoming a real person!

Some siblings are born and find they have little in common aside from DNA, while others are lucky to grow up with their soulmates. When I was 9, my sister and I did not get along. We used to fight over the remote control every Saturday morning among other things...but I now certainly count myself among the luckiest ones!

I am realizing that the universe is a whole lot more generous than we'd like to believe...friends, lovers, colleagues, mentors, collaborators, inspiring authors or historical figures--all of these in one's lifetime are soulmates.

My soulmate sits across from me...scribbling a note in Hiragana in my Nihongo textbook...He looks up and pushes the rim of his glasses over the bridge of his nose...I smiled, "What are you writing?"

He grins and says, "I'll be right back." I reach across retrieving my book and curiously flip through the pages for his handwriting...we were studying together for the fifth week for our second semester Japanese language class!

...I have something for you said he on another occasion... It was Valentine's Day which we, the single, decided not to celebrate. While everyone else was out on a date, we decided to go ahead with our study group. He reached out to place a mix CD in my hands... For the first time our skin brushed against one and the other...I was startled (and scared) and quickly pulled my hand away. I felt something I wasn't ready to admit...this remarkable person sitting across from me is more than a friend!

We are on a grand adventure together my soulmate and I to lands near and far...past the bounds of all that was...from the depths of the impossible to the splendid reality of all that is...

My lover's handwriting is penciled on a piece of green paper, my lover's words are soft and flowing...they are warm and hold me close to his heart... I find myself smiling and laughing more often now...and after twenty years, my heart is finally mending.