Can We Have More Than One Soulmate?

"What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined for life; to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister each other in all pain and to be with each other in the silent, unspeakable memories in the moment of the last parting.." - Anonymous

How exactly do our soulmates identify themselves?  I mean, do they hold a sign with our names on it?  Do they just know even if we don't know, and then proceed to approach us when they find us on the street?  What if we don't have just one soulmate; what if the number of karmic connections one individual can have is infinite?

For the longest time, I believed two things: first, as a Hindu, the concept of karma and reincarnation is very real and second, my soulmate is roaming this world waiting to be loved by me, and only me.  This is where he entered; messing up my beliefs.

When I started my last job, I had been so eager and anxious to make a great impression on my boss, I took advantage of every opportunity I had to learn more about the industry I represented.  My boss had given me a list of people that I should talk to because they were highly knowledgeable, and I immediately reached out to every one of them.  This would become our first interaction.

He is not my type, and I'm sure I'm not his type either.  He is charming, empathetic and professional in all his interactions, while I am emotional, aggressive and scary as I walk around with RBF.  He listens to listen and always answers questions rationally, giving sound advice and structured solutions.  And even though I am nothing like him, there is an unspoken connection that pulls at our heart strings and draws us towards one another.  

We are from different coasts, different cultures and different walks of life.  When I think about him, I remember he sings rock songs during karaoke while I only rap to Warren G's Regulate.  He has real responsibilities that make him more like an adult than I believe I am, and it's something I completely admire.  He is an honest, hard working and devoted man whose word translates to his honor, and it means everything at the end of the day.  When I think of him, I know he's everything, and I cherish the friendship we have.

I'm sure he'll think I'm crazy, if and when he reads this, but he makes me question all the things I used to believe.  Somehow, without really knowing me, he knows me better than most people ever will.  He can read my eyes, my actions and reactions, and he knows exactly how to respond; almost like meeting him in this life wasn't our first interaction.  We've been here before.  We've laughed together like this before.  Perhaps, we've been connected to each other in a lifetime before?  When I think about him, I really wonder if we are capable of  having more than one soulmate?

If, in Hinduism, our souls are recycled through the generations, then it's very possible we could have more than one soulmate.  Maybe our souls, his and mine, were connected in a different time and a different place, and in this life, we our individual paths were intertwined by happenstance.  Maybe our journeys weren't meant to cross, but by some magic of the Universe, they did.  Maybe he was meant to pull on my heart strings because I needed to know that it's possible to have more than one soulmate.

With a curious heart,
Vaishali