Sunday, November 04, 2007 Singlestalk: Eyes wide shut? By Darwin John Moises and Michelle Mendez-Palmares Singlestalk
Michelle: Due to a friend’s urging, I finally watched Serendipity—one of his favorite movies—on DVD. A romantic at heart, he believes in destiny, soul mates and fortune cookies! When asked about my favorite movies, I realized I’m a war freak! I like war and action movies. Well, I also like romantic movies.
I remember crying my eyes out in A Walk to Remember. You did admit a couple of times that you’re a romantic at heart. So, do you believe in destiny DJ?
DJ: Destiny? I think the weirdest place to meet someone is when you’re all alone in your room and someone appears beside you. Hello, hello! Believing in absolute destiny can make a relationship as uncertain as the plot of the horror flick, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Nobody knows. There really are people you meet for the first time who feel like they’ve known you for years. This is really cheesy. But it can also bring a chill run down your spine particularly if the feeling is not mutual. From what I gathered, love-at-first-sight stories are rare.
If ever they happen, they’re too melodramatic even for Judy Ann Santos. It’s true. Sometimes, there seems to be this strange orbit of gravity that pulls two strangers towards each other, then they hear Josh Groban in the air and everything is in a slow motion. But we’re not characters lifted from as screenplay of a teleserye. The sooner we wake up, the better!
M: I believe everything happens for a reason. There are no accidents, just incidents that form part of one big plan. We always have a choice. And we can choose not to make a choice. I don’t think we should leave our lives to chance. We should take a chance. We are given intellect, senses, feelings and free will to decide what to do with our lives. Leaving it up to fate is like allowing the winds to take us where it wants to go. We have to anchor ourselves on something or we’ll just drift away.
DJ: Yup, drift into The House of 1000 Corpses. Another horror story. Pardon my humor but we can’t always wait for fate to decide. We can’t also be too pragmatic. Life is a mix of both. While there is a plan for each one of us, we ultimately were given the faculties to discern and choose our actions. The best experience of loving and being loved is in the freedom to make a choice.
That’s why we meet people, for example, meant to be instruments to bring love, inspiration and joy. But at the end of the day, it is up to us whether we take good care of them or we take them for granted. Just like what happened in the movie. Why write one’s name and number on a five-dollar bill when one can always input them on his or her mobile phone? It wouldn’t really hurt if we use a bit common sense.
M: I found Serendipity entertaining to say the least. Jonathan (John Cusack) said something about finding signs along the way to lead you where you’re meant to be. I think if we constantly look for signs, we might miss a turn or worse, not enjoy the journey. We were created because we are destined to fulfill our Creator’s plans for us. I’d like to believe that a person’s good fortune is not about luck but because it is a blessing from above. Of course, one has to work, too!
DJ: Honestly, I once searched for the spot in NYC’s Central Park where a romantic scene in Serendipity was filmed. Now my friends will have hernia for laughing too hard once they’ll read this. But what I eventually found was a very ordinary lake. Then I realized it was just a work of some set designer. Unreal.
That’s the same problem if we’re just in love with love. Most love stories need some real-time work. Two people starting out as strangers need to adjust particularly if one’s window of opportunity is another’s doormat of disappointment. It’s not everyday we’re going to meet the love of our life while tussling over the only pair of black cashmere gloves on display.
M: Fate, destiny, serendipity… all the cosmic forces in the universe might align themselves to work to one’s favor. But nothing beats having a steadfast faith that God has the best plans for all of us. On that note, I’ll watch A Walk to Remember again!
DJ: Or you might like to check Jeepers Creepers, Mic! Someone once said date movie goers are people who don’t know what to do with their relationships—so they go to the movies. I’m not sure if you or our readers will agree to that. But still I suggest that before the cool winds of December will send us all to dreamland, we might as well just smell the coffee and hopefully wake up! Two people who are wide-awake have better chances of having a relationship that’s strong and true that it’s stranger—and more wonderful—than fiction.
