Serendipity

I remember watching the movies, Serendipity and A Knight's Tale, while on a plane travelling home to the Philippines.

Both movies tackle the tale of love. In Serendipity, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale met at a New York department store while buying the same present for their loved ones, and immediately felt an attraction towards each other; but the girl decided to allow fate to take control of their future.

In A Knight's Tale, Ledger's character (William Thatcher) posed as a knight after his Lord died, and joined the "jousting" matches. In the process, he found the girl, Jocelyn, and his good fortune (befriending Edward, the Black Prince of Wales and Geoffrey Chaucer) of finally having a real knighthood bestowed on him. He also found his long lost father.

So, I found myself debating what the Tagalog word for serendipity is. All I could think of is ala suerte, or masuwerteng tadhana, but now, I think both phrases do not capture the true meaning and essence of the word serendipity.

Then this ancient story came back to mind. A story of a young boy who was constantly crying because he thought his father loved his younger brother more than he loved him. Whenever his brother got a toy, little Boy would grab it from him.

One day, after a long family trip, the little boy cried again. This time it was because his kid brother would not give him a piece of candy. He howled and cursed, until his father whipped him with a leather belt.

The little boy cursed even more, and threatened to run away from home. He went up to his room, put several clothes in a blanket, and checked the wound on his stomach which the belt lashing left.

He felt so sorry for himself. He then climbed on the bed's wooden headboard and reached for the bottle of oil kept on an upper cabinet, to soothe his wound.

A candle was burning on the altar beside the bed and as the boy reached higher, his legs quivered and he fell on the altar. When he did, his t-shirt caught fire. It was a new shirt, a gift from his mother.

The candle flame singed the shirt and produced a hole. Terrified, the young boy stood up and saw the icons looking at him from the altar. Somehow, he lost the gall to run away. It was the day after Christmas.

Sometimes when you're not seeking, you find the best.

There were some serendipitous moments in this blogger's life.

And as the days of our lives unfold, I hope there could be more.

Is there a serendipity in your life? Tell me.