Monday, 6 December 2010



Sure, there are people who say this film is terrible, or that it's bullshit. But have you seen how boring their partner's are? Have you seen how unimaginative their conversation is? 'SERENDIPITY' is about faith. It's about believing life means something. It's about not just feeling a connection with someone but taking the risk in acting on it. It's about believing that when you make a choice, or stumble upon something; that it's meaningful. It's about people. It's about your friends. It's about the people you meet in the street and the people you ignore in Starbucks. 

We're all connected, we're all a moment away from a missing love, or a needed friend, or an inspiring opportunity. 'SERENDIPITY' is here to remind us to give a shit. To believe in life. To know it's worth it.

But it takes work. They're not sitting around like people who just watched 'The Secret' and expecting a Ferrari. These characters looked and searched and suffered and gave up and tried and hoped and lived. And sure, maybe love isn't real and maybe there's no God and maybe we all die and sink in the mud but what fun is there in that? I'd rather believe in the synchronicity of New Yorkian Serendipity. The fact that two years ago I wrote little blogs, mumbling to myself; and now YOU are HERE and reading and talking and sharing; that's amazing! You were meant to be here, I was meant to know you! 

"Nowadays more and more people, especially those who live in large cities, suffer from terrible emptiness and boredom, as if they are waiting for something that never arrives. Movies and television, spectator sports, and political excitements may divert them for a while, but again and again, exhausted and disenchanted, they have to return to the wasteland of their own lives."
-Carl Jung

We've all experienced it. Probably a few years before we got so cynical and hardened. We bumped into someone in the middle of 5th Avenue, or Trafalgar Square, or an elevator in Tokyo. In the movie, they believed in it, and they kept pushing for it. In reality, we stutter and mumble and walk away; or we believe in that critical voice that says to ignore it or get back to work. But what if we didn't? Who knows. What if I'd stuck around talking to that pretty Counting Crows fan in HMV nine years ago? What if I'd not said "I've got to get back to work?" to that woman in that little coffee shop somewhere near Holborn Station back in 2007?

We live life as we choose. You think Serendipity is not believable? You think it's cheesy? Great. Let's sit at home and fill in our tax forms, let's settle for the partner's who moan at us for forgetting to bring the milk home, let's sit and watch the world and say to each other "things never used to be this bad" and "things are too difficult right now."

Or we can go to New York City, or any city -- and we can open our eyes and look and see all of the amazing human beings that stumble into view from all around us. Who are they? What could they mean to me? How could knowing them make life a little more interesting? 

Carl Jung

"It all depends on how we look at things, and not on how they are themselves."
Carl Jung

Care to share?


  1. Definitely one of the good ones!

  2. Haven't see it but do feel the interconnectedness (if there is such a word) of people. Serendipity in life is quite amazing and has been the basis of several books and movies.

  3. This is exactly right! Life is inspiring and beautiful. I really needed this blog today - was feeling a bit down for no real reason. I have to look outside myself and realize life isn't just about me - it's about all of you, my friends, people who need me to pop into their life every now and again, too. I left my home, quit my job, sold my car and moved to another country without a return ticket, without knowing anyone, with no safety net at all. And in that leap of faith I landed in a life that has made me happier in the last three months that I've been in the last 10 years. A woman dropped her luggage in the airport and I stopped to help her pick it up - she introduced me to a friend of hers here and now I have a place to spend Christmas.
    Movies are about finding love in relationships - I think it can also be about the love we find in our friends. (Though I'm a totaly sucker for the drawing on her freckles

    Great post. Much needed and will be read again when I need a pick me up!

  4. I love that you wrote about this movie--I have had this movie on DVD for years now and have lost count how many times I've watched it. LOVE this film :-)


  5. Loved this movie, and great points, i love how you used quotes, keep up the great work.

  6. Dude, you are turning into my blogging hero. Honestly. First, you praise "Elizabethtown." Now you praise "Serendipity." At the risk of jinxing it, what are your thoughts on "Titanic"? Do you love Rose Dewitt Bukater as much as me?

  7. I like Serendipity. I've never taken the movie to mean more. This is a really interesting point of view

  8. Great Carl Jung quotes. In fact, this message of this post rings true to my ears

  9. My favourite film, Serendipity is definately real

  10. this is one of my most favorite movies.

  11. I love Serendipity so much. One of my favorite Christmas films definitely. It's sweet and fun and romantic without being too much - just the right amount of hope and feel-good scenes in that movie.

    Thanks for posting this. Made me smile :)

  12. Thanks all! Seems that everyone seems to secretly like it!

    Rodspeed- I'm glad you like the Jung quotes. One of them I really wanted to use and had to go digging around some books to find.. it took almost a whole day! So I'm glad someone is appreciating them quotes! You could say it is serendipitous that you do! :)

  13. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?".

  14. I think I experienced this today, no actually I know I did. And I feel that we will meet again.

    Life is miraculous. The web that connects us all is real.

    Thank you for the post. It highlights what makes life precious.

  15. Thanks for the great Jung quotes!

    First time I saw this movie, sort of dismissed it as too sweet.
    Now, I got to see it again, and I can't stop watching it!
    So well made! The chemistry of all the actors is perfect!

    Jung... Carl Jung.....Carl Gustav smart can a person be?
    His writings are hard (for me) to grasp, but read on,
    he opens up minds to "galaxies" just around us.

    I have read ONE book so far, years ago,
    ONE page a day, on the commute to penn station.

    In my humble opinion, the sparks that destiny gifts us, never goes away.
    It just gets buried by events, time, other pursuits, etc.

    Our role, as humans, is to give it life, to make it a reality.
    We are the ones breathing, doing, pursuing, and so it is up to us to realize it.

    The "heavens" is always around us, but it is just a concept, a roadmap, a spark.
    Our role as humans, is to fire up the spark. To make it a reality...during our limited time.

    It is hard to do so. Yes, we might end up close to an obituary.
    But, I believe, the pursuit itself is part of the reward.
    Even tiny steps gives rewards.
    It self-fulfills. Nothing is wasted.