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What is a soulmate? This is a question I get a lot from my customers.

The concept of a soulmate goes all the way back to ancient Greece. You know, that place where people wore togas and played with little boys. Seriously. It was pretty messed up back then.

Either way, you can find Socrates and friends talking about what they consider a soulmate to be. Up to modern times we find songwriters like Billy Joel penning lyrics like “I could walk away from anyone I ever knew / but I can’t walk away from you. I’m shameless.”

So is a soulmate your one true love? Is it someone who fills your daily thoughts, bouncing around in your head like the lyrics to a catchy tune?

We’re obsessed with love, we’re humans.

One of the philosophers in Plato’s Symposium goes on at length about the history of soulmates. His theory is that human beings were originally connected – Siamese twin style – and lived in harmony with their other half. Then one day a horrible thing happened and the halves were split apart and flung willy-nilly all over the place.

Thus, the common problem. We spend our whole lives searching for our other half, the person who makes us feel complete as we once were.

Of course, he then goes on to talk about a third gender that was a combination of male and female, so who knows how right this dude was. If it works for you, cool. If not, move on.

If you ask people who have long and successful relationships they will all tell you similar stories. Yes, their mate is their soulmate. But no, it isn’t all peaches and cream and roses and hot steamy sex. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes.

Your soulmate, therefore, is the one you love so much that you’re both willing to do the work to build a successful and happy life together.