An idea has been at the back of my mind all day today but has not yet assumed the constructive form of a thought. Though I did try to talk about it with a friend, sometimes one's thought processes are best structured in solitude. I hope by writing it down it will germinate into its full potential..
There are amongst us, many, like me, who are fierce proponents of the belief in free will and are fiercely protective of their freedom. They seek nor expect emotional sustenance from any source more than their own selves. And yet the very same person could be , again like me, a die hard romantic. They would never give up on their faith in the existence of love. These two things may often seem paradoxical because wouldn't love, being the binding factor between two persons, imply concomitant ties? Would it then not mean an infringement of one's freedom? Is the credo of freedom then, subjugate to the faith in love?
I hope a walk through this thought then may help me to find the common thread, if any, between the two seemingly contradictory beliefs.Two questions come to my mind :
1.What is the one way in which one can hold another person without asking for or expecting anything in return? This may seem like a difficult possibility but actually has a simple answer - By holding another in one's thoughts.
2. Moving on from there, What is it that truly belongs to you on Earth and cannot be taken away? All of one's possessions, material or emotional; the wealth we acquire, the relationships we have or build - all of them do not belong to us and will be one day taken away and returned to whatever 'Universal Whole' we got them from. It is, as if, we have only been lent the same, for our benefit and enjoyment, until it is pay back time.
Hence, one need never grieve for the loss of any of them because they are being returned to the rightful owner. But what cannot be taken away from us and is said to transcend all these is our 'Soul'. The soul is the some total of that life force which we were given at birth (which brought with it the leftovers of previous lifetimes) and all that we add to it by way of our actions, thoughts and beliefs in the current lifetime.
And now coming back to my first question and its answer - if one can hold another person in one's heart, without asking or expecting anything in return, then that person unites, by virtue of that thought, and becomes a part of one's soul and can continue as a fellow traveller on journeys beyond any one lifetime. This perhaps is what is meant by soul mates. One cannot aspire to a higher love or find a freer way to reach it. And yet both the individuals, the holder and the held, essentially remain their own selves, sans any restricting ties. This then is the freedom of love which allows one to find the wind beneath one's wings...
