Eat, Pray, Love: India (Soulmates)

Page 149

Liz's friend Richard on soul mates:

People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, 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, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave.

This is exactly how I have always thought of soul mates. I believe that people are brought into your life at certain times for specific reasons. There are some people who stay with you because they can constantly continue to teach you things. Soul mates are people who understand you, at the most basic level, completely and immediately.

You may not understand right away why you are drawn to a particular person. People think soul mates are romantic, and how lucky it is when they are, but I think soul mates are people who are connected in a way that is totally unrelated to romantic love. Soul mates are people who challenge us, who see through to the parts of ourselves we don't want to face and make us face them. Soul mates force us to see ourselves. I had a soul mate a few years ago who forced me to see that I was approaching romance in a way that would never yield the results I said I wanted. He was in my life for just 2 months and he ripped me wide open. It was heart-wrenching. But he changed the way I thought about a lot of my own goals and ideals. He served his purpose in my life and then he was gone. I think it happens like this a lot.