Waun Serendipitous Summer
Here’s to A Serendipitous Summer
By The Rev. Renee Waun
POSTED: June 21, 2008
It was a gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon in a downtown city square. Many people were out shopping, taking strolls, walking their dogs, sitting on park benches, lunching and chatting and eating ice cream in the shade. Rollerbladers were aimlessly sailing by with their earphones in place.
The water in the nearby fountain was dancing and sparkling in the sunshine. Birds were singing in the trees under a cloudless sky. It was a picture perfect summer day; the kind of day that makes you know you are alive.
I was crossing the square, heading for an adjacent hotel where I was to conduct a small wedding which had been planned to take place in one of the meeting rooms. When I arrived, the bride, groom, family members and friends were all standing in the lobby of the hotel, talking about moving the wedding outside into the square because it was such a glorious day. They wanted to know if it would be OK with me.
“Of course,” I said. “Let’s do it!” So out we went. We found the ideal spot, in front of some rose bushes and climbing vines that formed a colorful backdrop for the ceremony. As we gathered ourselves around the couple, the other people in and around the square began to notice that a wedding was about to take place and turned their attention toward us. Some skateboarders even paused out of respect.
At the end of the ceremony, as is my custom, I introduced the couple by name and they kissed, as family, friends and all onlookers in the square burst into applause. Suddenly, undoubtedly startled by the loud clapping of hands, a flock of about 200 birds abruptly burst out of the trees in a swift, uplifting rush and circled against the azure blue of the sky, around the couple’s heads a couple of times, and then orbited the perimeter of the park, while everyone around them stood dumbfounded and amazed. “Whoa!!”, was the common expression, as we watched the bird show. What a fitting tribute to the newly married couple!
I’ve officiated at weddings where couples pay lots of money to have a few doves or pigeons released at the end of the ceremony. They are special birds that have been trained to fly off together and then return to their cages. If a couple is lucky, the birds will fly at just the right time in just the right direction with just the right effect.
But there have been times at such weddings when I have watched birds that were reluctant to fly; birds that flew the wrong direction, and birds that no one even saw because they came from behind and flew away before they ever got to where the couple was standing.
But here, with no prior knowledge or plan, we had hundreds of birds in a freeform flock, all swirling and darting and diving over these two persons, as if the whole universe were celebrating this couple’s marriage. It was awesome and I’ll never forget it. I doubt if the others will either. Several people were taking photos at the time, so I’m sure the birds were captured on camera
I love serendipitous occurrences such as this. They add an element of mystery and magic to life.
The key is to move through life with a sense of adventure; allowing for the wonder of things we never could have predicted ourselves. It’s OK to not have every day or every event planned out in advance. It’s OK to just see what unfolds. It’s OK to let yourself get lost sometimes, or to find a new, different way. It feels risky. It feels bold. You have to relinquish control, but what spice this adds to life!
My hope for all of us is that, as we head into summer, we might be open and eager for the unexpected, for that is what makes life so rich and abundant and fun. And then, when we rejoin our friends at summer’s end, we might have some marvelous stories to share. Have a serendipitous summer!