Romeo

I’m going to take on the controversial topic of love today. Controversial, because everyone seems to have their own meaning, one that they’ve devised to justify to themselves their current state and make it more socially acceptable – or at least in their minds. So why shouldn’t I have a crack at this?

Elizabeth Gilbert’s opinion on a soul mate is one that I empathise with. “People think a soul mate is your perfect match, and that’s what everyone wants. But, a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back. They tear apart your ego a little bit and show you your obstacles and addictions. A true soul mate is probably the most important person.” She goes on to say that it’s too painful to live with your soul mate forever, but I’m not in the business of denying myself simple pleasures like love.

Julio Cortazar hits the nail on the head. “What most people call love consists of picking out a woman and marrying her. They pick her out, I swear, I’ve seen them. As if you could pick in love, as if it were a lightning bolt that splits your bones and leaves you stalked out in the middle of the courtyard. They probably say they pick her out because they love her, I think it’s just the opposite. Beatrice wasn’t picked out. Juliet wasn’t picked out. You don’t pick out the rain that soaks you to a skin when you come out of a concert.”

Love isn’t something we choose to do. It just happens. As crazy and stupid as that sounds it happens, and love is blind and love is painful but it’s also probably the most wanted feeling in the world. So why shouldn’t we spend as long as we can with our soul mates? Sure, it’s painful, but if all we did was toss our soul mate out after we had gotten what we needed from them, doesn’t that make us selfish? Was it even love then? Or are soul mates and love two completely different entities?