New Year's Day

"New Year’s Eve," the movie, I saw a few weeks ago at BQ cinema in Tagbilaran City.  Almost every critic in Hollywood hates it.   Certainly, it was no Robert Altman film, such as "The Player," with surprisingly witty, intertwining characters and subplots; but nonetheless, I like "New Year’s Eve" – because it celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts.  

And when you have these elements in life, I believe, serendipity happens!

Serendipity, according to Wikipedia, means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; specifically, the accident of finding something good, or useful without looking for it. 

This online dictionary, on the other hand, reminds us that we are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests.

In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."

And if one were born in the time of Jesus’ birth and happened to have come across the manger with the three kings right there with their gifts, now, that has got to be the most incredible example of serendipity.

 

Or how about while in Bohol watching the dolphins frolicking around your boat you suddenly find forgiveness in your heart for someone you’ve been holding a grudge against for so long, that you cannot even remember what started it?  And how about while walking along Alona Beach you once again find that spark, which revitalizes the love for your spouse of many years?

 

Gut feel tells me that Bohol is a place where serendipity occurs more often than many folks realize it.  And this may be one of the reasons why many tourists return to Bohol to spend their vacations.

Thus, for 2012, my main resolution is to become more open to and cognizant of serendipitous occurrences in my life here in Bohol. What a wondrous year that would be!

Wishing you all a serendipitous 2012!

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