What we find in a soulmate is not something wild to tame, but something wild to run with.

― Robert Brault

What is a soulmate?

When you hear the word soulmate, you probably think of some unexpected, perfect, just-like-you match that comes into your life one day and takes your breath away. We love to believe this myth. And the reason we love it is because it requires little to no effort on our part.

Sure, it’s frustrating to wait for Mr./Ms. Right (we’ve heard the complaints from all our single friends), but it’s also so easy. Easy to wait for destiny to set you into some vague happiness brought on by a mysterious figure.

It is a parable that justifies our wandering wishes – of having to do little work in our own lives, and of discovering someone who causes us little to no friction… because, gosh, life is already so tough, and wouldn’t it be great to find someone who can finally accept ‘you’ as-is.

The truth, though, is that a soulmate is someone far more disruptive than the puzzle piece described above. They will destroy ‘you’ in order to reveal the real You: your dreams, your beauty, and the immense strength you carry within.

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They know who you really are; they will break through the limitations you see in yourself, and that is why they will upset the very foundation of your existence. They are the epitome of destruction. And it is upon the smallest burning ember of these ruins that you will rebuild yourself.

Their greatest gift and most important role, then, will not be that of a rose-bearing lover, or a ‘go-get-em-tiger’ BFF, but a loving & revealing transformer.

A soulmate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

— Elizabeth Gilbert

A person who finally isn’t afraid to tear up your ego and challenge the ideas you have of yourself. They will expose you to your own flaws that keep you from achieving your true potential – in mind, body, and in spirit.

To quote Elizabeth Gilbert, “a soulmate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.”

And the whole process hurts like hell. Not because they are here to hurt us, but because we protect the ideas we have of ourselves with a proverbial death grip.

How do you know if you’ve found your soulmate?

When someone comes along who has gotten so close as to pry those ideas out of us, we become exposed. We become confused. We become vulnerable. And like any other muscles in our body, the heart and mind must also be made vulnerable – stressed, torn, and pushed to their limits – to experience growth; only then can we develop true strength.

As humans, we fear change and love comfort, but it is change that gives us the ability to stand in our own courage and proclaim victory over the challenges we never thought we could overcome, let alone those we never even knew existed.

Fear hides behind ego, behind power… and so, there is a special love reserved for those whose grand, yet humble presence causes us to be so exposed that we actually become better people in our own eyes. We form a new kind of power that is rooted in what most people consider weakness. We find strength in vulnerability.

The world has plenty of powerful people with seemingly indestructible egos, and even more naysayers and yes-men. What we really need are vulnerable people. Less fear, and more courage. Less smoke, and more mirrors. What we need are our soulmates.

Today, you may be completely oblivious to people who will mean so much to you in the future—ordinary people who will help you change your perspectives, and in doing so, will change the very quality of your life experience.

We have zero insight into how or when such connections form, and yet, in that serendipity—in our collective blindness—lies the beauty of life. So, next time you feel like you don’t make a difference, think of the power one handshake or one “hello” has to transform an entire human being. Never forget this power.

You can be the soulmate someone never knew they needed. And if you’re wondering when the time is right, just remember: it’s better to live a life of a few “oh wells” than to live a life full of “what ifs.”

The Best Quotes About Soulmates

A soulmate is the one person whose love is powerful enough to motivate you to meet your soul, to do the emotional work of self-discovery, of awakening.”

– Kenny Loggins

A soulmate is not found. A soulmate is recognized. – Vironika Tugaleva

A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person, we’re safe in our own paradise. – Richard Bach

A soulmate is an ongoing connection with another individual that the soul picks up again in various times and places over lifetimes. We are attracted to another person at a soul level not because that person is our unique complement, but because by being with that individual, we are somehow provided with an impetus to become whole ourselves. – Edgar Cayce

A soulmate is someone whose way of viewing life is not necessarily the same as yours but complements yours. There is not a compromise, there is a complement. – Paul Robear

The soulmate doesn’t have to be a romantic relationship. Sometimes in life, you meet people when you need them, and there is an immediate connection. – Alison G. Bailey