I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it – to be fed so much love I couldn’t take any more. Just once.
— Haruki Murakami, (Norwegian Wood)
One of the greatest problems that Old Souls ever face in this life, is finding love.
What sets Old Souls apart from others is their deeper level of maturity or wisdom, and with this wisdom comes the need to live and love authentically.
But as you’ve probably already discovered, the problem with most relationships is that they’re established to avoid loneliness, create comfort or security, or gain some sense of self-worth.
In other words, many relationships are based on playing ego-centered “games,” just like the ones we see on TV and in films. People thrive on the drama. People believe that they “need” another person to fill an empty hole inside of them. But something within you thirsts for a deeper level of love beyond the melodrama and lust.
The truth is, you yearn deep down for that which you’ve never (or rarely) experienced before: a relationship that is intense but healthy, devoted but free, supportive but not smothering.
You crave for honesty, authenticity, passion, empathy, true love, sincerity, and depth. You want to be seen, heard, understood, valued, and loved for who you are. And you want to express the same towards someone else.
My first relationship happened in my early twenties, with Luna. Up until that point in my life, I didn’t feel that any person matched my intensity of love, even after traveling through countless countries and meeting hundreds of people.
Over the years workings with many Old Souls I’ve come to realize that many others experience this exact same problem: the inability to find, or form, a truly fulfilling relationship.
Here are some of the main reasons why finding love as an Old Soul is so difficult:
1) We want love that is authentic
We want to be in a relationship that encourages and celebrates mutual authenticity. We don’t want to hide, pretend, suppress or change who we are in any way. We don’t want to find someone that doesn’t mind “putting up” with us, but rather, encourages us to “put forth” our truest and most authentic selves to be completely embraced.
2) We want love that teaches us
Instead of criticizing or rejecting us, we crave for someone who will point out where we’re going wrong, or ways that we need grow. Deep down, we realize that we will always have more to learn (Socrates once said “True wisdom is knowing that you know nothing”). It can be argued that all love affairs teach us, but they usually teach us unconsciously as a byproduct of suffering. Conscious teaching, on the other hand, is rare, precious and hard to find.
3) We’re healers but we don’t want to “fix” anyone
Due to our nature, we tend to attract people who are looking for help. But while our natural response is to offer help, we realize that entering a relationship in order to “fix” the other person is unwise. We don’t want to be the 24/7 doctors or counselors of our partners; we want to find someone who is in a similar place to us.
4) We have complex personalities
We think a lot, see deeply into the nature of reality and have intense personalities. It’s hard to find a person who can understand or match our complex identities. Having depth and seeking truth in a society that values materialistic status, objects, and superficial appearance can intimidate most people from getting to know us.
5) We want love that is beyond “liking”
We want fierce, uncompromising, genuine, deep love. In today’s world, most people throw around the word “love” as if it were synonymous with “like,” such as, “I love this ice cream/this pair of shoes.”
“Like” has no commitment. One day you like one flavor, the next day you like another.
Love is different. While liking is superficial, love is penetrating. While “liking” something is admiring its exterior form (and letting everyone know what that says about you), love is seeing past the exterior form and adoring the Soul.
6) We want love that is vulnerable
Being compatible at a personality level is simply not enough. True love is not liking someone or sharing their same interests, but instead is willingly opening up one’s heart and Soul — even if it hurts.
It is through the willingness to be vulnerable that wounds open, are given air, and heal. It is through vulnerability that we experience courage and the ability to love unconditionally.
7) We want commitment and effort
Love constantly needs to be nurtured, like the embers of a burning fire. Words are empty when they aren’t followed by action. As Old Souls, we know that real love can only be shown through shared experiences, effort, and dedication.
8) We want love rooted in wholeness
The moment your happiness depends on another person, you lose your freedom to love out of choice. We want a partner who is happy and whole by themselves so that we can share that wholeness with them. When people enter a relationship out of a sense of “neediness” because they feel incomplete or fear being lonely, the relationship is doomed. As Old Souls, we realize that healthy relationships are rooted in inner happiness.
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9) We won’t settle for anything less than Soulmate love
Old Souls find it difficult to settle for comfort, lust, superficial attraction, security, or “keeping each other company.” We need someone who will share our values and be a true spiritual companion. We thirst for Soulmate and Twin Flame love.
10) We don’t enjoy the “Dating Game”
The drama, the addiction, the stimulation, the rules of what “should and shouldn’t” happen … it’s this egocentric approach towards love that Old Souls find so unappealing. This adds to the ever-increasing difficulty of finding love.
11) We come with wounds
Many Old Souls become the way they are through difficult and traumatic life circumstances which force the growth of inner maturity. When it comes to love, it’s vital that we find someone who is mature enough to deal with the “baggage” we often carry. But this can be hard to find in others.
12) We want more than just sex
Lust, seduction, and sex are alluring but ultimately momentary and shallow if obsessed over. While we love sex, we want more than just one night stands. We want to share our bodies with those that fall in love with our Souls first, rather than just our physical forms.
13) We’re Free Spirits
The reason why falling in love is so beautiful is because it expands us: it unites us with our innate freedom. The moment control is asserted over such a transcendent experience, we put love in a cage. And every time we look at that cage, we feel guilty in remembering how free that bird once was.
Deep down, Old Souls know how vital it is to encourage freedom in relationships. But it’s hard to find a person who is willing to fly free as well. Freedom requires courage and the ability to love another despite what they say, want or do.
The first present I gave Luna was a ring, with the inscription: “Alis volat propriis” (She flies with her own wings).
***
These are just a few of the reasons why so many Old Souls struggle in finding love.
What is your experience as an Old Soul trying to find love? I’d love to hear your stories below.
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Yep i do completely connect with this, it is what I feel deeply, I away even lost my Twin Flame thru this, as was not ready …..said in words “not too much common we”, I need nothing in common as I need at all anything from the other, just be and love :) in all facets even hurt as we did ……got hurt both and still . separated now as it is not time yet ( the other) may be a day or not. I thank for the hard experience and that I can open up completely with my good and bad stuff …and still love … wow. the One it was ( is) but let it be if the universe wants us back again it’s gonna happen or not, this was the last as it was the one ( nicely said hey) ……..
This is the best article I have read regarding old soul love. I am a christian and in the christiandom these things are absurd abstract people don’t talk about it much cos it is looked at as demonic not normal you are going crazy! then I tot if it is demonic and if am going crazy why am I this way cos I am filled with the holy spirit according to the word of god and am definitely not haha not! crazy I am not some demoniac and it frustrated me alot bcos no one could understand even if they tried they just couldn’t itchier mind couldn’t comprehend and I was dying inside, I cried alot bcoz of my frustrations I tot I was cursed bcos of my personality but I was ruined from the lack of understanding I didn’t have I just decided to search on old soul love when I came across this article. In most of my findings/journey I realised that I just couldn’t accept the status quo i just couldn’t be that person that society wants me to be especially as a woman without a man you are nothing you know the negative way they teach… Read more »
After 25 years of marriage, I realised I missed so much. Everything went wrong and my husband lied victimizing on the coach. And not only that, I oversaw the last 10 years and asked my self: is this what I want from life. The answer was a big NO. The years that followed made me fall in a very deep hole, spending in solitude to find my true self again. I faced all fears, all nightmares, all dark corners. It was like the world around me and the world inside myself was empty and very lonely. And I had the feeling I was never be able to reach the light again. What did life ask from me? I felt myself so useless in this state but although trying so hard, I did not find the way to “further”, let alone “how”. I have never felt so lost in all the 50 years of my life. Longing for light and true deep love and support. The years went by. Years I learned so much. Especially about myself. And finally the curtain went up and there was a little bit of light coming through that showed me a small path to begin… Read more »
I have never experienced real love I have never seen it and all the men that should have been examples for me as a child, never where real examples. I have always been in relationships and every single one has ended because it was not real, I have struggled all my life to find genuine love, pure love, something that I am looking for in every person that is never there. Just like another person here I have 2 children both out of wedlock and with different men. It has always been a struggle and I fear that it may always be just a dream. I will continue to search and I hope everyone the best in there lives and true love endeavours. Blessed Be
I’m not an old soul (at least I was told that I’m not) but a mature soul in transition to the old, and yes, finding love for me is hard and I never knew exactly why. Thanks to your articles I found out the reasons for me to still remain single after near 30 years of living on earth. Well, I’m not giving up, and well, the right person will come when they comes anyway. Thank you so much for all the well-written entries, they’ve helped me discovered many bits and pieces of myself I had never know before. Thank you. <3
I get all that you are saying. I have not had a meaningful (my definition of meaningful) relationship ever. Both of my children were born out of wedlock and I have never been married. Most men only want the superficial thing they can easily walk away from.
I decided at the age of 40 to no longer engage with “casual sex”. I have been celibate now for 14 years and am enjoying my second “virginity”. I feel empowered as a woman to say “no” to sex until the person who can love at the depth of the soul walks into my life.
Love came very easy in the old days.
I found this soul love with my dog! I only had 9 years with him but love never dies.
Is it me or do some of these people that this resonates with sound like old souls at levels one and two, who might still be holding on to the previous mature soul level. I am either level one or level two old soul. I am more than content without the relationships and I’d only be willing to be involved in a relationship if it brought something amazing to the table without costing me my current freedom and I can’t even imagine that happening in this lifetime. There is this unconscious sense that the lack of a need for relationships is fairly new to me. I imagine that is due to a lot of incarnations as a mature soul still being somewhat fresh. My son, on the other hand, is probably at least a level 3 old soul and he’s much more used to and comfortable with “nope not interested in all that” from childhood on and he is now 31 years old. In both of our cases, it’s not just with romantic relationships, but with friends too. There’s just no interest in relationships that are manipulative, dramatic, jealous, needy or shallow and since the large number of people are… Read more »
It is amazing how this article rings so many bells. I have felt many of these things and it is nice to see that I am not the only one who struggles finding true, lasting love. That there is a reason is an added bonus. It’s not just some fairy tale that got stuck in my head and became the model partner ive been looking for. I have settled for less all my life.
My poor soul needs all of the devotion that I have given to others in the quest for a soulmate. My soul needs a place to rest.
Knowledge is power, wisdom is happiness, and truth is freedom. I read that somewhere, and I am not sure who originally said it, but they knew what they were talking about.
Thank you again for making all this available and showing others they are not alone.