20.4.08

soulmates.

so i was having a deep conversation with a friend of mine today, and she introduced me to this quote, by author elizabeth gilbert:

"but a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything thats holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. a true soulmate is probably the most important person youll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. but to live with a soulmate forever? nah. too painful. soulmates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. and thank god for it."

i couldn't help but cogitate over this, as it was quite the antithesis of what i've come to understand a soulmate to be. however, the more i thought about it, the more i read closely the passage, i came to understand her outlook... and appreciate it, and even agree with it. soulmates come into your life to teach you, to help you grow. they mesh with you. and i believe that there are different people out there in the world with lessons to teach, love to give, and constructs to destroy. but how can they play that role once your life is changed? things start to deteriorate, and that is when the pain seeps in. thinking back on things, it's how my life has been thus far. someone enters my life in a whirlwind, and they leave just the same. but it's shaped the person i am today, the person i've come to love and appreciate. the person i'm so ardently proud of. so i'm welcoming soulmates, to come. teach me, change me. love me. then leave me. so i can move on to the next, and learn new lessons.

1 comment:

. said...

i as well found this quote to be quite the antithesis of my understanding of what a "soulmate" is. i think i partially agree with what ms. gilbert has said. i think that people come and go in your life, & some will play a more poignant part in your life than others. now whether a "soulmate" is supposed to stay or not is, i guess, debatable, but my question then is, who is supposed to stay? who is that person that walks with you through life and moves you and shakes you? is there such a person? are we meant to be with one person for a majority of our lives?

this quote has really made me wonder and has produced more questions in my head. interesting vaughn.