Serendipity

I recently watched the movie, Serendipity, starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. My first thought was - "What a stupid movie".

Indeed, it was kinda dumb. The cheesy 'love-at-first-sight' (yes, I'm a non-believer); the annoying mis-coincidences... i.e. how they just kept missing each other at every place they went to; the crazy, frantic dashing around trying to find each other. Meh.

BUT (and there always is a but)

I could appreciate one thing (I use the word 'thing' because I can't find a better word to describe it) in this movie - the idea of leaving everything to fate. Though I don't believe that everything is fated, I do think that sometimes things happen for a reason (fate?) and sometimes we have to make our own fate, pave our own path, charter our own course.

This movie however got me thinking about how easy and convenient and comfortable it would be for us if we could just leave everything to fate - put all our trust in the fact that if something was meant to happen, then fate would take it's due course and make it happen. It certainly takes a lot of pressure off of wondering whether you should make that first move on the guy that you fancy or how much hard work you should put in for your exam preparation. It would be so simple to just live life without the burden of thinking that "good things come to people who work hard enough for them" and let everything else be determined by fate.

Yeah.... No. I think that kind of thing only exists in movies. In the real world, we make things happen on our own. Well, most of the time.

Taoism says that "the universe works harmoniously according to its own ways and that exerting one's will on the world will disrupt this harmony".

I can't remember why I quoted that... It's too late and my brain is dying from a lack of sleep. So I shall end this post here and leave you to ponder about the Taoism quote on your own :p Good luck.