Soul Mates
I've been thinking a lot about the idea of soul mates lately and how it is used in books in movies. It's a complicated subject for me because there are a lot of ways the idea of soul mates, soul bonds, etc. can be used in terrible, uncreative, and even idiotic ways. On the other hand, when they're used somewhat well, you can give them or take them from the story. They don't really matter much. It's just like, "Oh... and they're soul mates, by the way." It's like an afterthought and incredibly lame. When used right--and there are a lot of different ways the idea of soul mates can be used right--it's magical. It's amazing. It makes me like soul mates.
So, some background, because I always have some story that explains my view on a certain subject and if you've gotten this far into the blog, you should know this already. I do and I don't believe in real, genuine, actual soul mates existing in this world. See, I do believe in reincarnation of some sort, not the usual kind, but something similar. It comes from this idea in my head... well, several ideas in my head. So let's just go to the root idea and work our way out, shall we?
The first idea is that I believe that life is a sort of a lesson. Every person on this planet has a lesson they have to learn in the life they are living right now. I honestly believe that. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because my mom always thought so too and it makes sense to me or maybe it's because life is full of lessons. Either way, I think that, in life, there is one BIG lesson that each individual has to learn. Not only that, but every person on this planet has their own lesson. We're not all learning the same lesson, but we are learning lessons. If you learn the lesson, you're a step towards heaven or maybe you even get in, I'm not sure. I obviously haven't gotten that far on my spiritual journey yet. However, if you fail to learn the lesson, I think God sees that for some reason, you just didn't get it and sends you back for another go. Yes, this means that I believe in reincarnation.
To sum up, I believe that in life, God gives us things we have to learn to get into heaven. If we don't learn those specific things, instead of going to hell, we just get reborn into a new life over and over again until we finally reach the goal set for us and make the world a better place, live at peace, blah, blah, blah. What's this have to do with soul mates and my feelings about them?
Well, obviously, if one is reincarnated, there are obviously going to be times when one is reincarnated in the general vicinity of those souls you have come across before and some of those souls, you may have been romantically involved with in a past life. In other words, my ethereal sense of soul mates is a little different from the usual view because I don't really think that there is just one person in all the world out there just for you. I think that God puts certain souls in your way so that you can learn from them and they can learn from you. Then again, that doesn't even go into my other thoughts as to the nature of the soul and God in general (I'll give you a hint: all souls are part of God and God is part of all souls).
So, do I believe that some souls are destined to be near each other in life? Yes. Do I believe that all soul mates are destined to be 100% romantically involved. Hell no! Because, as I've said before and I will say over and over until my face as well as my hair turns blue, romantic love is just one facet of love. Everyone has an infinite amount of love and love others in infinite ways. Romantic love is just one of the most easily marketable.
Other than that one little peeve, I see nothing wrong with the idea of soul mates and the use of soul mates in literature, but I don't want to see the same old soul mate story over and over and over again. It makes me want to rip my eyes out with a spork.
One thing I liked about Sweep is that there is a version of soul mates in it, muirn beatha dan. Why do I like it when it's obviously just another kitschy romance trope with a Celtic name and weird spelling? Because of the uncertainty principle involved in finding one's muirn beatha dan. You don't just see the person and BAM! You know it. In fact, the main character spends a good amount of the series thinking her muirn beatha dan is someone else entirely from who it actually it. It also doesn't ensure happiness, and the story of the main character's mother illustrates. It's a perfect balance of a blatantly romantic trope. Every witch has one, but they don't always pair off with their muirn beatha dan. Sometimes they even get killed by their muirn beatha dan. Terrible? You betcha! But it keeps things interesting without making it too overly dramatic. It also makes it feel just a little bit closer to the real world.
Another good version of soul mates I found quite by accident in Christopher Pike's Midnigth Club where reincarnation does happen and this girl is destined for life after life of tragedy in punishment for living one terrible life full of mistakes. The person she'd wronged most in that particular life swore to follow her through all her trials until she had made up for her wrong actions. So the two were reincarnated as best friends, lovers, etc. going through countless tragedies together. Then, they end up as teenagers with cancer in a hospice and the girl has finally made up for her past mistakes... and at the hospice she meets a gay teenager who had AIDS after sleeping around and gave it to his lover who died before he did... and she makes a similar promise to him, to follow him through all of his lives until he had made up for his actions...
I loved that idea of soul mates, not just a lover, but a friend who accompanies through all of your trials through all of your lives, going through similar trials, until you are ready to move on. Isn't that idea of a soul mate more interesting than the boring old "we're lovers for ever and ever" crap? Doesn't it feel, I don't know, more heartwarming?
So... let's talk about soul mates done wrong. Let's talk about... imprinting.
That's right, we're going to talk about Fucking Twilight now. If you haven't read the books because you are an intelligent, thinking human being or a man, imprinting is this thing werewolves have where they can sense their mate upon meeting them, the one girl in the world that they will lover forever and ever. The girl who's more genetically viable for making babies ever after. What's wrong with that? Hmm... let's see... It takes away free will. It shows Stephanie Meyer's true beliefs about women being worth nothing more than baby-making factories. A werewolf can imprint with anyone, including babies, making them pedophiles. But Oh! It's a wonderful thing, really. Being brain-washed by your own body is just top notch!
Yeah, I have a lot of venom for that idea... I guess it's because I like soul mates when it means that in every life you live, every walk you choose, there's someone who will be there, if they can... but I really hate the idea that they have to be there, like it's a driving need. God gave us free will. We can choose to believe or disbelieve in Him. So why would any high being or god-like persona force two people to be together with the threat of pain or a more empty life? Now some would argue that not believing in God leads to an empty life, but I can't believe that either. Sorry. I've seen and read about too many happy atheists and deists (some of them are even those founding "Christian" fathers that wrote the Constitution) in my life.
Either way, soul mates... love them or hate them, every romance novel or fantasy book is bound to bring them up at some point or another. If it's done well, it can be a good thing that makes the story more complete. If it's done bad, well the book will go in my books-to-burn pile. You can decide what you think about it. I know this post was a bit religious and metaphysical. I apologize if I stepped on anyone's toes. I'm not looking to have a religious debate. I just wanted you to know where I was coming from.
Sweet Dreams!
So, some background, because I always have some story that explains my view on a certain subject and if you've gotten this far into the blog, you should know this already. I do and I don't believe in real, genuine, actual soul mates existing in this world. See, I do believe in reincarnation of some sort, not the usual kind, but something similar. It comes from this idea in my head... well, several ideas in my head. So let's just go to the root idea and work our way out, shall we?
The first idea is that I believe that life is a sort of a lesson. Every person on this planet has a lesson they have to learn in the life they are living right now. I honestly believe that. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because my mom always thought so too and it makes sense to me or maybe it's because life is full of lessons. Either way, I think that, in life, there is one BIG lesson that each individual has to learn. Not only that, but every person on this planet has their own lesson. We're not all learning the same lesson, but we are learning lessons. If you learn the lesson, you're a step towards heaven or maybe you even get in, I'm not sure. I obviously haven't gotten that far on my spiritual journey yet. However, if you fail to learn the lesson, I think God sees that for some reason, you just didn't get it and sends you back for another go. Yes, this means that I believe in reincarnation.
To sum up, I believe that in life, God gives us things we have to learn to get into heaven. If we don't learn those specific things, instead of going to hell, we just get reborn into a new life over and over again until we finally reach the goal set for us and make the world a better place, live at peace, blah, blah, blah. What's this have to do with soul mates and my feelings about them?
Well, obviously, if one is reincarnated, there are obviously going to be times when one is reincarnated in the general vicinity of those souls you have come across before and some of those souls, you may have been romantically involved with in a past life. In other words, my ethereal sense of soul mates is a little different from the usual view because I don't really think that there is just one person in all the world out there just for you. I think that God puts certain souls in your way so that you can learn from them and they can learn from you. Then again, that doesn't even go into my other thoughts as to the nature of the soul and God in general (I'll give you a hint: all souls are part of God and God is part of all souls).
So, do I believe that some souls are destined to be near each other in life? Yes. Do I believe that all soul mates are destined to be 100% romantically involved. Hell no! Because, as I've said before and I will say over and over until my face as well as my hair turns blue, romantic love is just one facet of love. Everyone has an infinite amount of love and love others in infinite ways. Romantic love is just one of the most easily marketable.
Other than that one little peeve, I see nothing wrong with the idea of soul mates and the use of soul mates in literature, but I don't want to see the same old soul mate story over and over and over again. It makes me want to rip my eyes out with a spork.
One thing I liked about Sweep is that there is a version of soul mates in it, muirn beatha dan. Why do I like it when it's obviously just another kitschy romance trope with a Celtic name and weird spelling? Because of the uncertainty principle involved in finding one's muirn beatha dan. You don't just see the person and BAM! You know it. In fact, the main character spends a good amount of the series thinking her muirn beatha dan is someone else entirely from who it actually it. It also doesn't ensure happiness, and the story of the main character's mother illustrates. It's a perfect balance of a blatantly romantic trope. Every witch has one, but they don't always pair off with their muirn beatha dan. Sometimes they even get killed by their muirn beatha dan. Terrible? You betcha! But it keeps things interesting without making it too overly dramatic. It also makes it feel just a little bit closer to the real world.
Another good version of soul mates I found quite by accident in Christopher Pike's Midnigth Club where reincarnation does happen and this girl is destined for life after life of tragedy in punishment for living one terrible life full of mistakes. The person she'd wronged most in that particular life swore to follow her through all her trials until she had made up for her wrong actions. So the two were reincarnated as best friends, lovers, etc. going through countless tragedies together. Then, they end up as teenagers with cancer in a hospice and the girl has finally made up for her past mistakes... and at the hospice she meets a gay teenager who had AIDS after sleeping around and gave it to his lover who died before he did... and she makes a similar promise to him, to follow him through all of his lives until he had made up for his actions...
I loved that idea of soul mates, not just a lover, but a friend who accompanies through all of your trials through all of your lives, going through similar trials, until you are ready to move on. Isn't that idea of a soul mate more interesting than the boring old "we're lovers for ever and ever" crap? Doesn't it feel, I don't know, more heartwarming?
So... let's talk about soul mates done wrong. Let's talk about... imprinting.
That's right, we're going to talk about Fucking Twilight now. If you haven't read the books because you are an intelligent, thinking human being or a man, imprinting is this thing werewolves have where they can sense their mate upon meeting them, the one girl in the world that they will lover forever and ever. The girl who's more genetically viable for making babies ever after. What's wrong with that? Hmm... let's see... It takes away free will. It shows Stephanie Meyer's true beliefs about women being worth nothing more than baby-making factories. A werewolf can imprint with anyone, including babies, making them pedophiles. But Oh! It's a wonderful thing, really. Being brain-washed by your own body is just top notch!
Yeah, I have a lot of venom for that idea... I guess it's because I like soul mates when it means that in every life you live, every walk you choose, there's someone who will be there, if they can... but I really hate the idea that they have to be there, like it's a driving need. God gave us free will. We can choose to believe or disbelieve in Him. So why would any high being or god-like persona force two people to be together with the threat of pain or a more empty life? Now some would argue that not believing in God leads to an empty life, but I can't believe that either. Sorry. I've seen and read about too many happy atheists and deists (some of them are even those founding "Christian" fathers that wrote the Constitution) in my life.
Either way, soul mates... love them or hate them, every romance novel or fantasy book is bound to bring them up at some point or another. If it's done well, it can be a good thing that makes the story more complete. If it's done bad, well the book will go in my books-to-burn pile. You can decide what you think about it. I know this post was a bit religious and metaphysical. I apologize if I stepped on anyone's toes. I'm not looking to have a religious debate. I just wanted you to know where I was coming from.
Sweet Dreams!
Well it seems you jus might be gnostic as well and that's a good thing.... and generally like minds of the same "frequency" tend to draw towards e/o some how and in some way. Who knows maybe its a matter of starting over and over again until u find your teammate that completes the lesson.....
ReplyDelete