Paradise Concerts with Kirtley Leigh
  • Overture
    • Violinista
  • Media Frenzy
  • Papparazzi
  • Backstage
  • Videos I
    • Videos II
  • Recordings
  • Biography
    • CV
    • Dossier
    • References Booklet
  • Concerts
    • Concerts Finale
  • Private Teaching Studio
  • Perfect Pitch - Blog
  • Reverie

Libretto

Mothers (and Diamonds) are Forever......

5/28/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture
Picture



























​How many of you "believe" in Serendipity? I would love to share an amazing story about me and my Mother with you, that still gives me goosebumps of joy and wonder and love.

Wikipedia tells us that "Serendipity is a fortunate happenstance"- not just a matter of a random event, nor can it be taken simply as a synonym for "a happy accident". It is evidently one of the hardest words to translate in our language, such is its wide-ranging meaning.

I think that the serendipitous can play an important role in the search for truth. It has for me, time and time again.

The New Oxford Dictionary of English defines serendipity as "the occurrence and development of events by chance in a satisfactory or beneficial way, understanding the chance as any event that takes place in the absence of any obvious project (randomly or accidentally), which is not relevant to any present need, or in which the cause is unknown."

The first noted use of "serendipity" (meaning pleasant surprise) in the English language was by Horace Walpole (1717–1797). In a letter (1754) he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of". The name stems from Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
Serendipity is a capacity. The Nobel Prize laureate Paul Flory suggests that significant incidents are not mere accidents.

Several years ago, after the death of my mother, I inherited a ring with 3 diamonds. I cherished that ring. A year later, I looked down, and to my horror discovered that the central diamond was missing. I retraced my steps, but to no avail. I gave up in dismay, and resigned myself to a careless tragedy. I was heartbroken, not only for me, but for the legacy of my mother, and also for the meaningfulness for my own daughters, bereft of family heirlooms that they, too would inherit, and the deeper love and meaning that is transferred upon gifting of such treasures.

Soon, I shall be embarking upon a trip to my "homeland". It is no surprise that, although I have adopted Australian shores and even have become an Aussie citizen, that I am a "Born in the USA" girl through-and-through. My heart is in Georgia, and always will be. I find a resonance when I am in the Deep South.

In a month, I will be traveling to the USA, taking my youngest daughter Raiyah Paine to introduce her to the "clan", and also traveling with my dear Bob Halstead. He, too, will meet as many of my relatives (on both sides of my family), as we can fit into three glorious weeks on both sides of my great country!

Well- it is also not a great secret that for a few long years (that seemed they would never end) I also went through a big trial, and faced many challenges that threatened my spirit of loving life, adventure, people and places. That particular difficult time is behind me now, and I have never been happier. I am finally, getting "Leigh" back, and I feel more grounded in who I am than ever before in my life.

So.....just yesterday, after the USA tickets had been confirmed, I was here, in my bedroom, enjoying my first cup of coffee. I reminisced, and took a cherished photograph off my bedside table. It is a photograph of my Mother, Katy (Catherine Bradley Walker), radiant in her beauty. She is one of my heroes. My dad is my other. I clutched her photo, and the tears gushed as I told her that her daughter was "going home again." I told her I was happy now, and there had recently been closure on incidents that had hurt me in the past. I told her I was happy, and that I was moving on. I told her that I would be ok. (She had always known that, but it felt good to tell her myself, and out loud.). I told her that her youngest granddaughter was going "home" with me too, and that Bob was coming to meet all the Aunts and my dearest, loving "crazy cousins!" She was a receptive audience- Mother always looked regal, even in her most casual times! I felt she was REALLY there with me, and was, somehow hearing me. Maybe I am also a "crazy" cousin! But it felt good, and the tears were healing and gentle. I dried my eyes - (after all, another cup of coffee was in order....), and I jumped out of bed, feeling on top of the world, and happier than I can remember at the thought that we were going "home" again soon.

I went into my ensuite, and saw the turquoise scarf that Mother had bought me the one and only time that she had visited my family here in Australia. We had selected it after a perfect day together in Palm Cove, seven years ago. I had just worn it for the first time since her death. I was annoyed it had fallen to the bathroom floor overnight. As I bent to pick it up, I noticed a glint.

There was Mother's missing diamond.

Serendipity? You decide.
​
Mother, I am coming HOME again! I know that's your way of telling me how happy you are for us!
Can't wait to see Y'ALL! California, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, look out, we have our tickets and here we come! Love you all.

4 Comments
Monica Kilian
6/4/2016 19:32:00

Lovely story, Kirtley! Serendipity is wonderful when it happens - and when you recognize it.

Reply
Kirtley link
6/4/2016 19:50:55

Thanks Monica! I love writing almost as much as I do playing my violin! And Serendipity is such a lovely quality, and one that has played a big role in my life, as you will see from some of my other stories posted here in my new blog!

Reply
Susan link
2/10/2017 05:22:17

Kirtley! I'm not sure how to react! I DO believe in angels, and know mine are all around me, all the time! I'm also a bit intuitive, and have been listening to my hunches and dreams, to help me figure out where my precious rings might be! I am a very organized person, and RARELY lose or misplace anything! I also have a very long memory and am considered the "Finder of All Lost Things". So you can only imagine how sad I am that my rings are gone. I know I'll find them one day, and I will say "How in the world...!" But until then, I pray, I search, and I pray some more. Thank you for this wonderful read! You will hear me SCREAM the minute I find them!!! ❤️

Reply
Kirtley link
8/3/2017 07:11:00

Thanks Susan!
I'm just checking in- did you manage to find your rings yet? Im dying to know if your anguish has a happy ending like mine did? 😍

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Welcome to
    ​"Perfect Pitch"- a collection of my musings about life, career, friends, laughter, and love of all things artistic.....

    Sometimes I love to write- it calms me down after all that music...well, nearly always calms me down! Unless, of course, I get carried away.....

    Archives

    May 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE BEAUTY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH KIRTLEY LEIGH!

Picture
Please switch off the looping soundtrack at bottom of your screen when enjoying this Recording Playlist or any site video. 

Hours

M-S: 8am - 9pm

Telephone

0439 763810

Email                                        

kirtley.leigh@yahoo.com                                                                             c Paradise Concerts 2016
Entertainment   Cairns
...
  • Overture
    • Violinista
  • Media Frenzy
  • Papparazzi
  • Backstage
  • Videos I
    • Videos II
  • Recordings
  • Biography
    • CV
    • Dossier
    • References Booklet
  • Concerts
    • Concerts Finale
  • Private Teaching Studio
  • Perfect Pitch - Blog
  • Reverie