My first insight into the feeling of being internally old occurred during adolescence.
I felt unusually different from the kids around me, somehow older, but ‘mature’ wasn’t exactly the right word. The best way I could describe it back then was as though I had lived hundreds of years of life which had been condensed into 16 years of time.
As the years went by, I encountered a few Old Souls who I shared my experiences with. I would talk about my insights and introduce them to the concept of Old Souls. One of these people was Luna. She was so excited about it that she eventually wrote the well-received article 9 Signs You’re An Old Soul as well as a subsequent Old Soul Book.
In my years of mentoring Old Souls and helping them through their spiritual development, I’ve witnessed a number of issues. I want to mention that it’s important to remember that having an Old Soul doesn’t necessarily equate to being ‘all-knowing’ or perfect. Rather, it’s an indication of the age of the energy known as your soul. With that being said, these are some of the biggest problems I’ve seen, and personally experienced:
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1# You’re a Social Outcast
As with anyone who perceives the world differently from others, Old Souls can experience a great (and unending) sense of isolation. Because they fail to fit into the standards that society admires and values (careers, materialism, status and so forth), they’re commonly seen as strange, offbeat and unconventional.
2# You’re the “Black Sheep”
While Old Souls can build many strong relationships with people, their penetrating ability to connect with the depths of the people in their lives can create many enemies. Seeing deeply into the core issues of the people around them, Old Souls feel an innate desire to be truthful, even if this means revealing uncomfortable truths such as the fact that many problems are caused by immaturity, or a failure to take responsibility.
Those who are willing to change will listen and like you, while the rest will feel great disdain towards you. This is why Old Souls often become the “devils advocates” or “black sheep” of their friends or family.
3# You Often Get Mislabeled
If there’s something we all love and are good at, it’s labeling people. We fool ourselves into thinking we can “know” someone by attributing a label to them. However, humans are far too complex to be boxed into a specific and unchanging group of people. In this case, Old Souls will often be given different labels, from “beatniks” to “hippies”, “anarchists” to “new age freaks“.
While you can’t fight labels, you can try to use them in a positive way. Labels can be used as signposts, as directions towards awareness of some quality many of us share. These qualities will be different in intensity and strength in each of us, but at least they will help us understand ourselves (and the people around us) a bit better.
This is partly why I called the Old Soul Group “I’m an Old Soul” – not so people can gain egotistical pride with such a label, but to create a sense of self-awareness, to allow people to better understand themselves.
4# You Speak an Entirely Different Language
Words are symbols we each load with our own unique definitions according to our own unique life experiences that are associated with each word. What I associate with love might be entirely different from what you associate with love. For example: When someone thinks about love, they might remember their old failed relationship and feel a terrible sense of vulnerability when the word arises, while others might associate love with loyalty and friendship.
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Old Souls realize this limitation, and therefore greatly struggle to express entirely what they want to say, knowing that it’s as though they are speaking an entirely different language from others.
5# You Are Prone to Intense Existential Crises
I have sometimes witnessed cases where Old energy is born into the body of a person who does not have the matching mental maturity to embrace it. This can result in depressions, substance abuse and existential crisis’s.
When a person realizes that everything is transitional and passing, life can become pointless. This person sees that our bodies are temporary vessels that don’t really matter, and without the ability to cultivate self-love, self-destructive habits can result.
In this case, it’s necessary to undergo intense spiritual-growth, to cultivate existential meaning and inner-understanding through inner work in order to learn how to embrace your soul.
6# You Easily Become Emotionally Drained
With the wisdom and patience that comes with being an Old Soul, there also comes others people’s desire to use you as a dumping ground for their emotions. I’ve experienced this a lot in my own life, often experiencing emotionally-charged conversations that last for hours at a time. Some Old Souls also double as Empaths, which can also take a great toll on your energy.
7# You’re Prone to Becoming Mentally Drained
In the search for truth, deeper understanding and inner exploration of yourself and the world around you, it is common for the Old Soul to experience a lot of mental fatigue. Double this with acting as a mediator between people and their problems, and you’ll end up exhausted at the end of the day.
#8 You Struggle to Find a Kindred Spirit
If making friends who connect with you is difficult, finding a kindred spirit, soul mate, or life partner, can be even more of a challenge. It took me living in 6 different countries to find Luna.
But it’s not always as hard as that. Having the wisdom to discern the true depths of your connection with a person will be your greatest asset in the area of love.
#9 You’re Crippled By Possibilities
As we grow in maturity our perception of possibilities and explanations expands: we see life from limitless angles. This means that we see more than one way of doing things which makes us unfailingly indecisive as we see the full expanse of possibilities, and the lack of absolutes. Although making decisions and judgments can be a crippling experience, this can double as a virtue, allowing us to understand that we can’t simply judge people by face value, and that they are the result of millions of internal and external influences.
#10 You Yearn For a Place to Belong
For some Old Souls, the world feels alien. They find it hard to understand people, why such chaos and misery exists and how it is allowed, and sometimes encouraged, to continue. They long to find a place where they feel like they belong, a space filled with freedom and liberation. This often results in the feeling that this world is not their true home.
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Regardless of which of the above problems you may come across, these struggles will affect your life a lot less when you grow in inner understanding and acceptance.
The stronger your ability to channel and use the Old energy that is latent within you, the greater your capacity will be to aid in the continuation and evolution of your soul.
Please feel free to share your experiences below.
There was something almost mysterious about this woman. Her face had lots of wrinkles. These were the first things to catch your eye, but they didn’t make her look old. Instead, they emphasized a certain youthfulness in her that transcended age. The wrinkles belonged where they were, as if they had been part of her face since birth. When she smiled, the wrinkles smiled with her; when she frowned, the wrinkles frowned, too. And when she was neither smiling nor frowning, the wrinkles lay scattered over her face in a strangely warm, ironic way. ~ Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood)
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Thanks Sol, Although i’ve always been aware of the facts you mentioned, it’s nice to read them like this. It’s all so recognizable, always felt so alone as a kid, thinking and talking on a different level than the children around me. I’m still aware of being alone in my believes and ways of dealing with life, love, people, feelings and problems, but it does not matter anymore, it made me so insecure when i was young, and i’ve come such a long way since then by overcoming great pain and many, many hard lessons. The insecurity turned into pride and love for who i am and what i can do with the ten points of your article.. it has given me the power to, every now and then help people who sence my possibility to help them. I’m now trying to learn how to protect myself for the negative energy that being emphatic brings along when going deep into other peoples feelings and problems. I’ve changed a few lives in the near past with my ability to localize the deep hidden knots many people cary around with them, make them visible and understandable, and give them guidelines to deal… Read more »
But their is nothing elts I would rather be. An old soul. A wise soul. A true soul. Me.
I connect more with animals and nature than with other humans. I consider creatures of the earth, as long as they have a hart and mined, people. They don’t wine about their, or other peoples, condition, they are not obsest with owning things, they are not complet and udder morons or care about what others think of them. Other people do not understand this. They think I should be more *shudder* “socily active”! Like I give a crap! They talk to me like I’m an idiot, like I don’t understand it, when, more offten, I know/understand more than them! It is so frusterating! And they expect me to take so long for me to understand things, or have it stick, when I can anilize things so quickly! But now that I think about it, that could be a green eyed trate, or just me…..not an old soul thing…..But being throught IS. And evey one complanes about it! If I am going to do it, I am going to do it right, and deep! At 6, I was learning and understanding contenental drift, mass extinckions, and globle warming and greenhouse gasses. I am currently 13. I feel anchent, like I lived… Read more »
This is bizarre, interesting, something I must pursue. I took the test sort of by accident because somebody commented that I was an “old soul” and I tended to discount it at the time. Looks like I am, though (85% even though I was deliberately being moderate in my answers). Most of the problems described in the article above ring true for me; some of them have been severe at some points in my life (now 54), especially when I was much younger. I feel for those who posted here about their troubles weathering their teens and early twenties — please you all, do not despair, those are difficult years anyway, and things do get a lot better. Give yourselves the time it takes to encounter the opportunities you need to find things you can say Yes to, and get on some path that’s meaningful, and don’t give up! I tend to be skeptical about anything that smacks of mysticism, forgive me — LOL! But this resonates so much that I can’t ignore it. My friends consider me kind, trustworthy, and a source of useful thoughts about difficult life situations. I am also practical, and enjoy DIY projects, getting my… Read more »
I don’t know if I’m an old soul, but many of the problems associated with being one pertain to me. I feel disconnected from most people (as if I don’t fit in). I have a great deal of empathy, which makes it difficult and very draining to be with people sometimes. I am extremely insightful. The greatest thing I long for and do not feel that I have is understanding, and I feel as if I am always searching for “home”.
An interesting article. I identify with many, but not all, of the universal problems. I’ve always liked my own company, even as a child but have never ever seen that as alone or lonely. I have always attracted people who tell me their problems, and am definitely NOT interested in the superficial aspects of life like celebrity and gossip. My career, which I’m nearing the end of, was teaching and then more recently working with those who have mental health problems, which is a minimum wage job. I have read tarot for 30 years and more, and once did for a living, but became increasingly disillusioned by the ‘get me an answer now and instantly’ attitude, and often just knowing that despite the advice the querent was going to do the same on things with the same old thought patterns and end up making the same old mistakes. People just didn’t seem to be ‘seekers’ of personal spiritual enlightenment. I view many as children, you see them playing through life and then crying at their ‘grazed knees’ but despite advice not to do it again, they continue. Like children I smile indulgently at their ‘play’. I know they come to… Read more »
When I came to the realization that nothing really matters, I was not at all depressed,. I think the reason why I wasn’t is because I accept and love myself sooo much! I’ve always lived alone from the time I was 18, except for the two times I was married. I live with myself in perfect harmony. I never disagree or compromise myself. I was born an old soul. Spent some time trying to be different and consequently being miserable. One learns from everything, no matter what it is. Thank goodness I evolved a bit and am still (of course) evolving. I see the earth as a humongous television (without the inner workings) and we humans with our little lives (dramas, comedies,documentaries, mixtures of those aforementioned) are the programs. “Time now for our commercial break” (being funny!) When something turns out less than desired for myself or whomever, I just say it’s not the end of the world. I had adapted to feeling totally alone, not knowing anyone to discuss these things with until I came across your (can’t think of a suitable adjective) website, You and Luna are beyond platinum. Thanks. PS With forms that say occupation; I always… Read more »
Hey! I stumbled onto your delicious lonerwolf website by accident??? while checking out body language on google. I just love your site! Can’t wait to read everything you have written on everything you’ve written! Your old soul info sounds a lot like the channelings of Michael, one of my very favorite ether world educators! Please keep all this wonderful stuff coming! You inspire and enlighten just by your writin.
So much LOVE and GRATTITUDE to you both-Wilheimenia
I wondered how I can be an old soul and make such hideously bad mistakes throughout my life! Especially in my youth. But having recently diagnosed ADD has explained a great deal. I can’t blame every mistake on ADD, and self-love was difficult because of how I was treated. Number five was a relief to read!
All of the points in this article resonate with me, but this bit is what hit the most:
“When a person realizes that everything is transitional and passing, life can become pointless. This person sees that our bodies are temporary vessels that don’t really matter, and without the ability to
cultivate Self-Love, self-destructive habits can result. In this case, it’s necessary to undergo intense spiritual-growth, to cultivate existential meaning..”
Listless is the only word that can describe me these days. I know that I need to create meaning in my life, but I fear it’s too late for me as the only comfort I find in existence is in ideas of nihilism. Outcast, black sheep, yearning for a place to belong; surrounded by these themes for all my life has left me drained and unable to continue struggling in the straitjacket that is living within society. I’m sitting at the bottom of a deep, dark well, listening to the commotion above as people go about their days, waiting for my body to expire. End lament