The Poetic Construct of Soulmates
A discursive composed by Regan (Year 11)
The German Philosopher Arther Schopenhauer once mused that “fate shuffles the cards we play” which got me thinking, is fate nothing more than a never ending game, which we are forever playing, always wondering when our card is going to get picked?
Perhaps the concept of fate is nothing more than a beautiful, poetic construct of the human mind? The concept of fate and finding your true love has been instilled into our brains from a young age. According to research out of 2000 people surveyed, 55% of females believed in fate and only 40% of males did. Is this because as young girls the concept of fate and living happily ever after with our true love has been perpetually sold to us? Growing up with fairy tales and stories of a perfect love life and as we get older all of the romantic novels directed towards women make us believe love is easy and men aren’t confusing and fate is just going to drop your Prince Charming in your lap.
Does everything truly happen for a reason? The American author Emery Allen once speculated: “Do you think the universe fights for souls to be together? Some things are too strange and too strong to be coincidences.” I have often wondered if because the idea of fate has been engraved into our minds, we just believe that’s reality or if it is the universe playing matchmaker and putting us on different paths on our journey to find love. Have you ever wondered, does fate lead us to the right place and our free will determines whether or not we take the opportunities? Or are our futures determined for us when we are born?
Why is the concept of fate so appealing? As humans we thrive on resolution, we all love happy endings and seeing everything pan out gives us the illusion of control. Control gives a feeling of order, stability, and safety and humans love that feeling. We thrive on these because they have been printed in our brain because that’s what everyone has grown up with, your Prince Charming will come save you, your princess will fall into your lap, but it doesn’t always fall into a perfect order like we wish.
The potential ramifications of this unrealistic ideal of the love of your life waiting for you can negatively affect your mind and body, in ways for example self depreciation which can lead to anxiety or depression. We grow up watching princesses who don't have pimples or stretch marks or big thighs and if you don't think you're “up to standards with beauty” this can take a toll on your physical and mental state. If you still haven’t found your life partner and all your friends have, this can impact you and cause you to go through really mentally changing times.
The entertainment companies profit off exploiting the perfect idea of fate, when you’re going through life everything shown to you for your age group is to give you a sense of escapism, an example of this is when you’re reading a nice romantic novel you fall away to this perfect life of having a perfect partner and nothing bad happens; but all this does is give us false hope when we fall back to reality and gives the entertainment companies more money in their pocket to make more of the same traps that we so happily fall into.
I once read “what’s meant to be will always find its way, always” and maybe your cards are always shuffling or perhaps yours have already been picked. Either way the game never ends. I know now that all the rom coms and romantic fiction are just there to give us a false reality, but I will still read them and watch them, but I will do so with a little skepticism.
