I believe in Dragons, Soul Mates, and Other Fantasy Creatures

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offed at times. I loved the soul mate trope. The more fantastical the better. Oh yes, The Queen of Snark has a soft centre. Hell, I cry at the end of “The Titanic”. Spoiler alert: The ship sinks. Who could have ever predicted such a climax?</p><blockquote id="2573"><p>Jack, Jack. Come back.</p></blockquote><p id="6d04">That scene opens my floodgate every time and I disgust myself.</p><p id="c366">Now that I am grown up… mostly… I can watch the classics “Grease”, “Dirty Dancing,” “Pretty Woman” and “The Titanic” with the understanding none of the couples in the movies would last in the long run because let’s be real, the lovers are too different whether it be class, age, or interests. Love does not conquer all. People have psychological issues and are complex beings. My inner child is heartbroken.</p><p id="0ce4">In a non-traditional sense, Jack and Rose from “The Titanic” were soulmates because he changed her. Knowing him left a mark on her being and redirected her course in life from a caged rich girl to a free and daring woman. She carried his memory and kept her promise to live life to the fullest for him.</p><p id="e194">Likewise, I had a mentor who was more of a father to me than my old man. Peter passed away a few years back, but his legacy lives on in me every time I manage our writers’ group. We both shared the belief friendship needed to come first in a writers’ group — friends share with friends. Peter was gentle and good-natured. He broke another quote I used to love as a teen.</p><blockquote id="e840"><p>I believe in Dragons, Fairies, Good Men, and Other Fantasy Creatures</p></blockquote><p id="2981">Soul mates don’t have to be romantic. They are the people who help you change and heal. A soul mate is a person who touches your soul and may only be in your life for a short while for w

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hatever reason. This understanding blows the Disney concept of soul mates out of the water faster than “The Little Mermaid” out of the box office. We can have many soul mates in a lifetime — teachers, friends, lovers and family. Each soul mate offers something different. One person can not be another’s everything. One soul mate to rule them all leads to co-dependency… It never ends well.</p><p id="2020">So why is there a fixation on “the one”?</p><p id="2813">Looking back, I understand something in me was missing… or broken. I was looking for someone to fix me, to fill me. The issue was internal. Once psychological healing took place I felt whole. I found my animus (the masculine part of my psyche according to Jungian psychology). My outlook on life and soul mates changed. The greatest relationship we will ever have is with ourselves. Once we are whole we can give ourselves to others or be content on our own.</p><p id="0dbe">Essentially we are our own soul mate. And that, my readers, isn’t as kinky as it sounds… oh hush.</p><blockquote id="3d0f"><p>Do You Believe in Soul Mates? What is a Soul Mate to You?</p></blockquote><blockquote id="8a18"><p>Writing prompt by <a href="undefined">Adrian CDTPPW</a></p></blockquote><div id="5219" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/read-or-die-publication-rules-c84757ff97e6"> <div> <div> <h2>Read or Die! — Publication Rules</h2> <div><h3>Updated August 2023 Guidelines</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*1cWjoYejSw_r2BAH3_p40A.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Fairy Tales, Soul Mates, and Other Lies

And they all lived happily ever after… well until she realises he won’t put the toilet seat down and he grows tired of her nagging… photo by Igor Rodrigues on Unsplash

Soul mates… Now there is a loaded concept thanks to the Disney gun. In modern times, Disney has shaped the Western concept of soul mates with its bastardization of classic European fairy tales. The original fairytales had… shall we stay a different outlook on relationships (ladies, don’t read Sleeping Beauty, you’ll never sleep again and wish your lady parts had teeth).

Pop culture has screwed everything. Hollywood brainwashed us from a young age — the dreamy man meets a beautiful woman and they live happily ever after. Just look at “Pretty Woman”, a 90s retelling of “Cinderella”. Let’s glamorise being a prostitute. Her prince, a CEO, saved her in the end. Let’s ignore reality. She’s probably on crack and will eventually meet a John who goes too far. No saviour, although she may secretly beg God for one. We are programmed to believe in “the one”.

Sometime in my late teens, I read a quote that stuck. It went something like this —

She who waits for a white knight on his horse, picks up after the horse.

I needed to hear it. Amongst my group of friends, I was deemed the romantic one. Scoffed at times. I loved the soul mate trope. The more fantastical the better. Oh yes, The Queen of Snark has a soft centre. Hell, I cry at the end of “The Titanic”. Spoiler alert: The ship sinks. Who could have ever predicted such a climax?

Jack, Jack. Come back.

That scene opens my floodgate every time and I disgust myself.

Now that I am grown up… mostly… I can watch the classics “Grease”, “Dirty Dancing,” “Pretty Woman” and “The Titanic” with the understanding none of the couples in the movies would last in the long run because let’s be real, the lovers are too different whether it be class, age, or interests. Love does not conquer all. People have psychological issues and are complex beings. My inner child is heartbroken.

In a non-traditional sense, Jack and Rose from “The Titanic” were soulmates because he changed her. Knowing him left a mark on her being and redirected her course in life from a caged rich girl to a free and daring woman. She carried his memory and kept her promise to live life to the fullest for him.

Likewise, I had a mentor who was more of a father to me than my old man. Peter passed away a few years back, but his legacy lives on in me every time I manage our writers’ group. We both shared the belief friendship needed to come first in a writers’ group — friends share with friends. Peter was gentle and good-natured. He broke another quote I used to love as a teen.

I believe in Dragons, Fairies, Good Men, and Other Fantasy Creatures

Soul mates don’t have to be romantic. They are the people who help you change and heal. A soul mate is a person who touches your soul and may only be in your life for a short while for whatever reason. This understanding blows the Disney concept of soul mates out of the water faster than “The Little Mermaid” out of the box office. We can have many soul mates in a lifetime — teachers, friends, lovers and family. Each soul mate offers something different. One person can not be another’s everything. One soul mate to rule them all leads to co-dependency… It never ends well.

So why is there a fixation on “the one”?

Looking back, I understand something in me was missing… or broken. I was looking for someone to fix me, to fill me. The issue was internal. Once psychological healing took place I felt whole. I found my animus (the masculine part of my psyche according to Jungian psychology). My outlook on life and soul mates changed. The greatest relationship we will ever have is with ourselves. Once we are whole we can give ourselves to others or be content on our own.

Essentially we are our own soul mate. And that, my readers, isn’t as kinky as it sounds… oh hush.

Do You Believe in Soul Mates? What is a Soul Mate to You?