“They make it look so easy, connecting with another human being. It’s like no one ever told them it’s the hardest thing in the world.”
This is a dialogue from the infamous showtime series — ‘Dexter’. But you don’t have to be a serial killer to feel this way- most of us might have felt this way at some point in our life, at least I hope so. And don’t correct me if I’m wrong.
Unlike other species, Homo sapiens are so different from each other- so much so that an extensive data on different individuals could mislead an analyst to believe that they are from different species. And that is not at all on account of our looks- but our thoughts and ideas. Still, in this whole mess of different souls, we are in a constant search to find the ones that most closely resemble ours.
I truly believe that people are the most valuable and meaningful in one’s life. Given an option between a butt-load of money and a genuine friend- I will always choose the latter without a second thought. And that is why I think finding your people should be the focus of your early adult life.
What do I mean by ‘your people’? Quite frankly, I myself am not so sure. People call it by many names- soulmate, BFF, buddy, companion, amigo, and so on. I do prefer the term soul mate, but it is often thought of as only fitting for romantic relationships and restricted to a single soul at once. Whatever the term you’d like to go with, what it symbolizes is a connection beyond descriptions. And there is no way for a person to let another person know what it feels like if the other person himself/ herself hasn’t experienced it. If you can understand what it means, consider yourself lucky- because a lot of people have lived and died on this planet without having ever experienced this feeling of wholeness.
A lot of 90s teen movies and shows have fantasized this concept to such an extent that it is a thing of science fiction for the youngsters today. But it doesn’t have to be; in this world of infinite opportunities, we still have hope for building meaningful connections. We are now more connected than we ever were- but this connection is often always superficial. Even a global pandemic couldn’t stop us from boasting about our lifestyle on social media and scheduling meetings with our top investors. At the same time, almost a year under lockdown hasn’t brought us any closer to the ones around us. It feels like we are losing the connection with ourselves. And we need that connection now more than ever with the burden of a worldwide catastrophe still hanging over our shoulders, and the pressure to build a life in the competitive world today.
With over 7.5 billion souls to connect with and the devices to track down and search for almost anyone alive or dead, ‘finding your people’ wouldn’t be that hard, right? Well, it is. And I’m not gonna believe you if you say it isn’t- coz it is. It is as tough as finding a needle in a haystack.
You can befriend a million people online, and be a celebrity idolized by a whole generation but still fail to find that connection with another person- and that would be the biggest failure of all. You can be surrounded by accomplices, well-wishers and followers all day long but still, feel like a cable isn’t connected which makes everything way more colourful- and that would be the worst feeling of all.
Then what can we do to find that connection? I really don’t know- you can only hope that a soul destined would cross your path. You can search for these connections- but there is no assurance that you’ll ever find them.
Then why am I writing this piece- just to remind you to hold on to the connections if you’ve already found them and never let go. Don’t take it for granted- work to nourish these bonds. Because you are the luckiest people in the world and losing these connections would make you the most unlucky- so, HOLD ON to your soulmates.
