old soul.

photo by aaron farley

it strikes me that people often misuse the term "old souls" to mean a young person who has wisdom or maturity that seems like an adult. personally, i believe that people who have "old souls" are people whose actual souls have been around in the world a lot longer than others. there are life-cycles going on all the time, in nature and in the world, and it only seems logical to me that our souls could have a life cycle of their own. why should this 80-100 years that we are here on earth be the only "lifetime" of ours out there, when the rest of life is not a straight line with a beginning, middle and end, but one big endless circle?

through all the things that our different souls experience, whether it is through bodies here on earth, or through some other experience in the ether which we can only imagine, our souls must be learning, growing and maturing. we have all met people who seem “young at heart” or just "immature" no matter their age, and there are others who seem to have a wisdom beyond their years that doesn't come from a classroom or a book. people connect with others regardless of age or life experience, due to similar thought process and (i believe) state of their souls.

there are people i've met who i feel an immediate and inexplicable connection with, who i can know for years, or just for a day, who despite everything, i feel closer to and more connected with than others i've known my entire life. I absolutely don’t believe this can be explained by biology and physical chemistry. perhaps these are our true "soul mates”? not a romantic bond, but someone you connect with on a level that can't be qualified simply by a good conversation, what topics you agree on, or similar interests you may have.

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in my opinion, i believe that we are all nothing more than these complex souls, experiencing life here on earth through these bodies that we are born into. when i think of who I AM, it doesn't have anything to do with my body or anything physical that i do. it has to do with how i feel and what i think and the connections i make with people, places and things in life. how can this be dependent only on my brain and body and nerves and blood when my mind feels so separate from my physical self? how is it possible that the way i feel, in my thoughts, who i am, would disappear just because my blood leaves my body, or my lungs stop taking in oxygen?