Can lightening strike twice?

I am not one of those people that believe that there is only ONE person out there for me, or else I’m totally screwed on this 32-mile-wide island. I do believe that the pinnacle of a connection is one that you can call a soul mate.

However, I think there are many out there with whom this could happen and it’s not limited to only certain personality types. To me, compatibility is on a greater level than just surface interests such as movies, music or scuba diving, for example. It’s actually kind of unexplainable, I guess – you just know, you just feel. It's "home."

Now, suppose you meet that person and you have this chemistry. It’s the best you’ve ever had and you cannot imagine how it could ever be better, but for whatever the reason, you cannot be together. Many movies come to mind to illustrate this – Titanic where he dies, The Notebook where he thinks she no longer loves him, or Shakespeare in Love where the girl marries someone else (okay, okay, he was already married, too).

What do you do? Are you “settling” because you eventually marry someone that doesn’t shake you to the core, like the other person? Or, are your standards to high to expect that same thing twice in one lifetime? How long is it reasonable to look for that? Is it possible to have just as powerful of a connection with another person?

I think of what Rose’s husband in Titanic would’ve felt like, had he known that even after years of marriage, kids and grandkids, when she died, she still went back to that dude she only knew for four days on a boat (and don’t give me that, “it’s just a movie” bit, it’s still a valid point).

I’m curious if anyone has experienced this in real-life or is it just in the movies? Do you get a second chance?