Soulmate: The belief that two people are two
halves of a same whole as in Eve being taken from Adam’s rib and when they find
each other they are reunited. There’s also a fable in mythology that says we
were all four legged beings that were halved and when we find true love it’s
our other half of our body and soul.
This all sounds great but what about people who have
loved more than once? Some people love more than one person at the same time as
in polyandry (having more than one husband) and polygamy (having more than one
wife). I doubt they love one spouse any less than the others. They may have a
favorite but they still love the other parts of their union.
For those of you who have never heard of polyandry,
there are a few tribes left in China, India and Africa that participate in this
practice. There also used to be Native American tribes that were matriarchal
and some had multiple husbands.
And of course y’all already know about the Mormons
and Middle East practices of having more than one wife.
Do you think those people believe only one of their
spouses is their soulmate? I doubt it.
Then there is the fact that women tend to outlive
men. I’ve known many elderly ladies that have had more than one husband over
the course of their lives. When asked which husband they loved the best most
cannot give an answer. They loved them all in different ways and for different
reasons. Saying one was their soulmate would take away from the love they had
for their other husbands.
I’ve known men who had several wives throughout
the years and depending on the situations after they divorced many of them
still hold a fondness for their ex-wives even though they are no longer
together.
So you see why I have a problem with the whole
soulmate idea? Yes, some people find only one person in this life to love and
they stay together until death do them part after one is left behind that
person never remarries and lives alone and probably sad.
The whole “Death do us part” implies that once one
person passes the contract is null and void meaning the union is finished. One
soul has gone on to heaven, reincarnation or if you are atheist then you
probably believe the energy within is simply extinguished and the body becomes
dust. If you believe in an afterlife it implies half a soul is left behind
leaving half a person. I don’t like to think they are less than whole.
This would also imply that all single people are
not a full individual and are somehow lacking. Those who have decided on a life
of singlehood would beg to differ with you on that point.
I like to think we are all whole entities with endless
amounts of love we can share with as many people as possible all at once or one
right after the other; whatever floats your boat.
I’m married to one man and one is quite enough to
clean up after so I’m not into polyandry and I don’t share so polygamy is out
of the question. Just so you know, I’m not into that sort of thing just giving
you something to think about.
