Serendipity is a Magical Word

Do you believe in serendipity?

People may ask, how did you two guys meet?

And I say, "through the Internet..."

There is utter disbelief in some people while some doubt whether such a relationship would ever work even in today's ever-connected digital age.

I feel there is still that old-school appeal and romantic allure to it. We're not writing long and winding letters that take a few months to reach each other anymore. But I feel there is that element of excitement and anticipation when I write something to her on the other side of the world.

How would two people be bound by love even though they have different cultures, languages, and even, personalities to a certain extent?

How can this love bloom, grow, and survive from being far apart after all those years?

Well, there is this one magical word that describes everything in just a few letters - serendipity.

So why do I say it?

Well, the word basically means 'an unplanned fortunate discovery.' You may not believe it to be true but we found each other because of that. It all happened because we never expected it to happen and that's the beauty of it. We all have been in love. It may sound cheesy, cliche, and even passe. But it's even better than "love at first sight" as it's something you're not even thinking of.

Think about the movie of John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale on how they ended up getting together by chance. All the things when you least expect end up becoming that 0.00001% probability in life that would come true. They say dreams do come true and I thought it won't ever come...yet I'm starting to believe that I probably will.

It may not be online dating at first but fast forward for years, and it has evolved to something special that we're on the verge of embarking on a new life journey that brought me to a faraway place and leaves everything behind for something new, exciting, daunting, rewarding, and definitely special all rolled into one. A real fairy tale story? Yes and no.

There was a 'once upon a time' beginning when a man and a woman from faraway lands (Philippines and Indonesia) got together because of a serendipitous moment. Despite their best efforts to be together, the star-crossed lovers were separated for years not by evil witches or mythical dragons standing in their way but by real life. Yes, real life is in the form of the global pandemic that resulted in the death of millions of people around the world. The same thing virtually blocked any chances of reuniting for a couple of years. Yes, being stuck in limbo is the worse thing that could happen. All that fairy tale ending seems so far away. Yet, there is always that proverbial life at the end of the tunnel. God gave light. And so there was light. Years far away from one another were rewarded with the opportunity to reunite and be with each other, hopefully for good!

Going back to the word, it was actually coined by British author Horace Walpole on January 28, 1754, as he was inspired by an ancient fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip," which was adapted from the poem "Hash-Bihisht." The place is actually the archaic name of modern-day Sri Lanka.

It may have reminded you of the three kings in the Christian nativity lore but this one is different. It's about the princes who travelled far and wide and ended up discovering new things by accident and sagacity. Interestingly enough, the word has been rarely used as an adjective since then and it was only in 1910 that it reappeared in a book on fishing.

I guess that's probably where our "message in a bottle" connection came into being. We used a virtual app called Bottled where we send a random message that other people on the other side would have the choice to pick it up or throw it back. If someone picks up, they also have the option to reply to your message or not.

And of course, we're here now because she chose to pick up and reply to my message. One thing leads to another and the rest is shall we say history.

If there is something that I would say, there is serendipity waiting to happen for all of us when we least expect it. Learn to take chances and don't take little things for granted. Expect the unexpected. Embrace change. Live life the way you want it to be even when things go horribly wrong at times.