its everything

‘i didnt know it back then, but i was a harbinger of a massive trend. like most modern singles, i wasnt just looking for a suitable spouse, i was soul-mate searching. although i disliked the phrase's new age connotations, i counted myself among the 94 percent of my fellow never-marrieds who, when asked in a gallup poll, agreed that when you marry you want your spouse to be your soul mate first and foremost. along with my friends, i discovered that searching for a soul mate wasnt so easy. although i dated smart and charming women, the soul-mate standard i tried to apply was so elusive in my own mind that any disgruntlement could become a reason for the big ‘what-are-we-doing?’ talk. i wasnt looking for that certain ‘something’ (a friend once cruelly observed), i was looking for that certain ‘everything’’ – ethan watters