Soulmates (or Messengers of a Higher Power)

Miltenberg, Germany. December 2011

Soulmates: we are socialized to believe a big part of our lives should be dedicated to the search of our soulmate. That one person we were separated at birth from. That one person that we will spend the rest of our lives with because no one else has the ability to understand us as they do.

However, I have learned that you don’t search for a soulmate. Instead, they come to you when you most need them and least expect them. And they are not, at least in most cases, meant to stay around for very long. Just long enough.

Long enough, as Elizabeth Gilbert would say, “to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life.”

I am a very spiritual person and therefore believe in the existence of a higher power. You can call it God, Allah, Buddha, the Universe (or Electricity as my high school Spanish lit. teacher would say). I strongly believe these soulmates are all messengers of a higher power that come into your life just at the right moment.

They are:

the  lady that reminded you of your mom and helped you pick a nice pair of shoes at Norsdtrom one day when your world was so cloudy that even deciding on flats over platform heels  seemed overwhelming;

the high school classmate who confessed he always wanted to date you and a decade later still finds you beautiful right when you were thinking how undesirable and unattractive you were;

the acquaintance from abroad who gave you company when your insomnia kept you awake and taught you that letting go a little and going for an adventure really isn’t that bad;

the college student in your standardized test prep-course, who barely knows you, yet gave you the sweetest, unsolicited piece of advice when you were questioning whether or not to finish that course;

and finally, the lover who unintentionally gave you the push and confidence you needed to embark on a a long overdue venture that will transform your life .