A young woman was dumped and she went to her mother for advice. Heartbroken, she asked, “do you believe in soul mates?” The young woman supposed that her mother’s answer would help her understand love, help her figure out how to process her sadness. If there’s no such thing as soul mates, she could take comfort in the idea that “there are plenty more fish in the sea.” Relationships take work and the end of this last relationship just meant she could try again next time. Or, if her mother said “yes, there are soul mates,” she could focus on finding her one, true love. She could reassure herself that this last one certainly wasn’t the right one. She could keep searching until their destined hearts found one another.
She asked her mother a simple question: this or that? She had an idea of what each of those paths looked like no matter what her mother said. But her mother looked at her with deepest love and compassion and told her, “I think you will have as many soul mates as you need.” It wasn’t this or that, but it was kind of both this and that. It was a messier and more beautiful answer than what she had expected.