Love Beyond the Shell

Although we often use popular labels in conversations, few of us know the origins of the expressions we so freely use.
I think most people – at least once in their life – have used the term “my better half” when referring to their significant other; yet, if asked, not many of them would know how this affectionate address ever came to be.
In 360 BCE, Plato attempted to explain the concept of soul mate in “Symposium”, and used the analogy of humans having four arms and four legs before the Greek God Zeus split them in half and scattered the severed parts to the four winds. After that, humans wandered the world looking for the other half.
As enchanting as Plato’s story may be, it has one fatal flaw: When thinking of soul mates we readily assume that only humans can have such deep connections, while other aspects of creation are automatically relegated in a different category, void of emotions and unable to experience attachment to one another.
For the habitual visitors of Laniakea Beach, a small stretch of sandy Paradise located about one and a half miles from the old Haleiwa town in the island of Oahu, it was suddenly very clear that animals have soul mates too.
Although strict regulations protect the welfare of green sea turtles, one unfortunate individual known by the name of Honey Girl was senselessly slaughtered last week, and abandoned to the shore to be found by regular visitors. Saddened animal lovers set up a small memorial for Honey Girl, including flowers and a photo taken while she was alive. To everyone’s surprise, on Monday, a large male slowly made his way out of the waves and inched toward the memorial, where he remained for several hours. Onlookers were stunned by the fact that the male turtle – affectionately known as Kuhena – appeared to stare for a long time at the picture of his companion. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/23/mizutani.hi.turtle.love.khon?iref=mpvideosview
Needless to say, the people who were fortunate enough to witness Kuhena’s final goodbye to his mate were left speechless and profoundly touched.
Sadly, we are conditioned to function in a world which promotes separateness from the whole. We live our lives on automated pilot, choosing to view ourselves as the only beings able to love and connect to one another. True love and friendship are powerful enough to cross past the boundaries of time, space and form; no matter what type of home our soul chose to inhabit during this lifetime, we are all aspects of the same source of creation, briefly sharing an earthly experience, and all connected by the need of unconditional love.
Kuhena and Honey Girl had a special bond which was untainted by her death.
By allowing humans to witness this powerful display of soul connection, they have blessed all of us with an awareness that might have been elusive otherwise, and have gently shown to all of us that love should not be considered a human exclusive .