on soulmates.

there's quite a bit of controversy around the word soulmate, and after lots of pondering, i think i can loosely {and slightly interchangeably, of course} categorize them into three groups, all with the common theme that a soulmate understands you on a soul level like nobody else does. there's the...

romantic soulmate: the life partner

kindred spirit soulmate: the soul sister/brother

best friend soulmate: the guardian angel

when it comes to romantic soulmates, i don't know if i believe in the cliché that there is really only one person in this universe made for us. i think with over seven billion people on the planet, the chances are that we are bound to have a couple of them.

but then i started reading the soulmate secret by arielle ford and the way in which she defines a soulmate got me right at my core. i realized that it doesn't matter if there is only one person for us, or multiple, it just matters that you find it. out came the mechanical pencil to underline the words and make notes in the margins. now this, i thought to myself, is something that's going to be read at my someday wedding.

if i close my eyes, i can see it now... a day in late summer. the sky is blue. the air is fresh, with a light breeze. the sun glistens its late afternoon rays. there's beautiful, tall trees and green grass, and lots of people staring. but, i'm gazing into my soulmate's eyes, and i hear these words...

in the movie shall we dance? starring richard gere and susan sarandon, there is a terrific scene where sarandon's character is describing why she loves being married to her soulmate. she says, "we need a witness to our lives. there are a billion people on the planet... i mean, what does one life really mean? but in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything - the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things - all of it, all the time, every day. you're saying, 'your life will not go unnoticed because i will notice it. your life will not go unwitnessed because i will be your witness.'"

it got me thinking about the cycle of life and funnily enough, my parents. they are still my witnesses, but someday i'm going to need to find one of my very own. because they can only fulfill this role for so long until i will need to experience a soulmate in my own way, and like my parents are doing for me, do the same for my children until they find theirs.

so, anyways, you guys. big epiphanies around these parts! thank you for listening. here's to finding our witnesses.

p.s. it's weddings galore in twenty fourteen. i have so many kindred spirit / best friend soulmates who've met their romantic soulmates, and i'm just so so beyond lucky to be a part of their special days.

*photo via cupcakes and cashmere {my absolute dream of a venue}. someday!