I can't imagine life without Vogue at this point. People say

Hearken to the words of the pilgrim of love, Spencer Matthews, who declared: “I can't imagine life without Vogue at this point. People say, what's changed? What's different? But it's just part of growing up, meeting your soulmate and moving on with life.” Though these words seem wrapped in the garments of the present day, they carry an ancient truth, for they speak of transformation, of love that reorders the heart, and of the eternal march of the soul from youth into maturity.

The meaning is this: in the journey of life, there comes a time when one’s path is no longer solitary. The restless wanderer, who once sought thrills, triumphs, and fleeting victories, finds instead the stillness of soulmate love. This is no mere companionship, but a joining of destinies, where the “I” becomes “we,” and the self is no longer complete without the other. In Matthews’s words, the change is not dramatic to the eye, but profound to the spirit. It is not merely romance—it is the crossing of a threshold into a higher way of living.

The ancients often spoke of such unions with reverence. Plato, in his Symposium, spoke of the two halves of the soul, forever seeking one another across the ages, longing to be reunited. In that reunion, he said, man finds not only joy but wholeness. This is the truth echoed in Matthews’s reflection: when one finds such a bond, life is no longer imagined without it. The soulmate becomes the anchor of existence, the guidepost of maturity, the quiet miracle through which life moves forward.

Consider the story of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and philosopher. Though the world remembers him for his stoic writings and imperial power, he himself cherished the love he bore for his wife, Faustina. She was his companion in both glory and trial. Though he bore the weight of empire, he never forgot the grounding strength that love gave him. In her presence, he was not the emperor, but the man—reminded of the beauty of ordinary joys and the sanctuary of family. Thus, even the mightiest rulers confess: life without love is life incomplete.

Matthews also speaks of growing up—a phrase that in the ancient tongue might be called initiation. To meet a soulmate is not simply to fall into affection, but to be reshaped. The boy who once chased pleasures becomes the man who embraces responsibility. The wanderer who once lived for himself becomes the guardian of another. True love is both fire and forge; it burns away selfishness and shapes the soul into something nobler, wiser, more enduring.

The teaching for us is luminous: do not resist the transformation that love demands. When life places a soulmate in your path, embrace the change, for it is not the loss of freedom but the gaining of fullness. To move forward with love is to move into maturity, into the deeper mysteries of existence. To cling to old ways, to refuse growth, is to remain as a child forever, chasing shadows rather than living in the sun.

Therefore, children of tomorrow, cultivate readiness for this great passage. Do not treat love lightly, nor flee from the responsibility it brings. Cherish the one who walks with you, honor them as soul and mirror, and together build a life that is stronger than either could fashion alone. For in the end, it is not fame, not wealth, not fleeting glory that sustains the soul—it is the quiet, enduring presence of the one you cannot imagine life without.

Remember always: the seasons of youth must give way to the seasons of maturity. Love is the bridge between them. Cross it with courage, embrace it with reverence, and you too shall find that life without such love is unimaginable, and that through it, you are not diminished but made whole. Growing up, meeting your soulmate, moving on with life—this is not loss, but the highest form of gain.