It is said that originally human beings were born in to this world with two heads and eight limbs. And they were powerful enough to incite jealousy followed by fear among the gods. So they cut them up into two equal halves which resemble our present state and condemned the halves to a fruitless search for each other across the globe.

The tale very well maybe is a fragment of sheer imagination but the poignancy of the metaphor is not all lost on us. To be able to find a person who is just like an extension of us; is a dream that we all harbor. Highly improbable and unlikely to happen but at the same time never sounding completely impossible - thus a dream worth engaging in.

Now I’m sure you muse as to why one would attach so much importance to just one aspect of their life. And the answer to that, goes back into the very roots of our psychology. No person given a chance would prefer complete isolation. Man being a social animal, seeks company. Just as one thrives in like-minded company, bad company is probably even more detrimental in the long run. Keeping that in mind, one can estimate the prime importance of a life partner. Simply put, if you plan to spend your entire life with one person, you my friend are going to want it work with all of your heart and soul.

Almost everybody equates the initial elation of being in a relationship with having found their soul mate. Every serious infatuation we have is relegated to that title at least once before the bubble bursts. Bitterness in the last dredges of a relationship may or may not ensue. But the sense of disappointment about failing to see the impending future of a failing relationship never fades. Clouded with dismay, we forget all the positives that drew us to those people in the first place. This is followed by a period of harsh self-censure, where self-esteem scraps rock bottom. Say this cycle repeats a couple of times, and voila you have cynics with an undying aversion to all forms of personal commitments.

It's with this jaded perspective that most of us contemplate that word, Soul mate. It feels as magically clichéd as talking ponies colored in all shades of the rainbow possessing a world of their own. But then again we all agree that there is a certain semblance of magic in this world. In fact there is something downright miraculous in the very manner we survive, the arduous journey called life. If we can let life strike us down like bowling pins time and again and yet we repeatedly rise up for an encore. Thus I feel maybe the speculation about soul mates is not all fizz.

Finally, I will answer that million dollar question bubbling in your minds. You wonder, won't it hurt to set sail on a journey that is probably set up towards failure ? The answer to this lies in remembering the words of a wise man that the journey undertaken matters more than the destination reached. Then again, let me remind you that not all journeys are filled with trials and tribulations. In fact it’s up to you as to how monotonous or exciting you decide to make it.

With the right attitude and an even better set of wing men/women (Yes I'm talking about your dorky friends here) the search for  your counterpart will be a journey worth cherishing. And in due course, you will find yourself a person. Someone who makes this entire soul mate business sound trivial. And you wouldn’t even pause for a single second, to evaluate them by the standard dream mate checklist (Oh yeah, that exists guys). You will just know hearts of hearts that they are the one, and the two halves will become a resplendent whole.