How many of us have met a person and instantly clicked? Maybe not meeting exactly, but you realize something clicks and connects both of you. Not only are they your best friend, but it feels like so much more. A soul mate, but not romantically. You have no feelings for them physically or romantically, but you just click. You love them, but you’re not in love with them. This very person may be your platonic soulmate.
“What is a platonic soulmate?” asked Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist focused on people in relationships. She responded that a platonic soulmate is “someone to whom we feel the need for a deep connection, familiarity, understanding, and closeness—without an interest in relationship or physical love.”.
Indeed the very status of platonic love came from the Greek philosopher Plato, who defined love as something which doesn’t revolve around lust; rather, it is intellectual and emotional in essence.
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The Essence of Platonic Soulmates
Soulmates need not necessarily point to any love relationship. We can have very close friends whom we share the bond with; thus, they turn out to be your soulmates. Just like the love relationships, these relationships lack complications and dramatics and therefore are uniquely fulfilling in their own manner.
Platonic soulmates are those people who are always by your side and always give you strength in any situation. That just means the people with whom you remain yourself—merits and demerits—and you are accepted without any judgment. Really, a person like that in our lives does make a great deal of difference and accords real value.
How You Realize Who Your Platonic Soulmate Is
The following are the signs that someone is your platonic soulmate:
Ultralong-Lasting Bond
From the time you got to know this person, a strong, natural connection has existed. You feel like you know one another and are therefore being drawn closer together.
Mutual Understanding
You understand each other on a remarkably deep level; it’s often beyond words.
Unwavering Support: You take each other through thick and thin, and you are the greatest cheerleaders for both of you.
Shared Values: You agree on the most core of values that make your connect even better.
Authenticity: You can be your most authentic selves around each other.
No Judgment: You may go in-depth to share even the deepest thoughts without any fear of getting judged.
Timelessness: Even if you don’t see or talk to each other regularly, the connect remains high.
Equality: This relationship is just the right proportional. And well, both individuals know, for certain, that they have a fallback.
Romantic love, as described by Dr. Romanoff, is so highly charged and thus quite unstable. Most of them encounter their own set of crests and troughs, rejection, betrayal, heartbreak, and at times, even cheating. The platonic soulmates, however, are much more immune to this. That makes them worthier to us.
Building a Relationship of the Platonic Soulmate Variety: Listed here are some of the strategies that can help an individual in forming and nurturing special bonds:
Be Real: Be honest about who you are, what matters most in your life. Having the courage to be vulnerable can strike something magical in bonding.
Actively listen: Give them a reason to want to share by listening. Seek to make them feel seen, heard, and validated. Make time for one another: Do spend time together through frequent meetings or even catching up with each other in the form of texts, calls, or video calls.
Hobbies: Do activities that both of you like. The more time you are investing in activities that you like, the closer you will get.
Establish Traditions: Establish rituals and traditions that identify you as a couple.
Respect Differences: Acknowledge, understand, and respect the differences you both have.
Setting Boundaries: Setting up clear boundaries keeps a relationship healthy.
Forgive and Forget: A willingness to apologize and create room for forgiveness; it will keep the padosi-yari ka rishta intact and work positively.
Celebrate Life Events: Just ensure to schedule ways to appreciate your efforts’ success and all your essential events, personal in nature.
Emotional Crises and Support: Such a soulmate supports the other in rough times, both emotionally and physically.
Advantages of Platonic Soulmate
The different advantages of a platonic soulmate are as follows:
Greater happiness: Their approval, encouragement, and presence elevate one’s contentment.
Less stressed: You will be less stressed, knowing someone is in your corner.
Less lonely: They can make one feel less lonely
More Self Improvement: They really inspire you to take action and be the best version of your SELF.
More belonging: Such strong attachment can ground you in your community, which will give you belonging and a sense of purpose.
One of the primary advantages of a platonic soulmate is vulnerability; that is, sharing experiences with no defensiveness. Such relationships a person feel more joined, validated, and empowered.
Though romantic soulmates gain more of the limelight in our minds, surprisingly, there exist platonic soulmates in our lives.
These may be childhood friends, buddy college students, or immediate colleagues with whom we have an instant connection at a very deep level.
Coupled with emotional support and deep acquaintance, these relationships bring much-needed comfort in our lives, hence are a big boost in making one feel happy and supported. In reality, the amount of effort required in keeping that kind of friendship is essentially the same as that needed in keeping a girlfriend or boyfriend because, truly, they are long-lasting and outlive the distance.
By developing and appreciating these relationships, we can live a fuller life because of the peace of mind that follows from knowing there is someone at our back, for once, who understands and really gets us without all the mess of romance.
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Philosophy of love.
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