Definition: 1) an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. 2) good fortune; luck.The first time I ever encountered this word, was reading “Serendipity” by Stephen Cosgrove to my son, age 2…maybe 2 ½. It is a story about a young sea monster who finds her purpose in life: a guardian of the sea. He requested this book over and over and I found myself rolling the syllables off my tongue and enjoying the sound. But more than that, I like the whole idea of “discoveries by accident”.
In the 23 years since, I have found myself finding “serendipitous” moments and savoring them for what they are. And thinking to myself “That was really serendipitous”, again, savoring the word and what it means.
Tonight, on pure happenstance, as my husband was manipulating the remote to get us to PBS and the “Snooze Hour” (as my son calls it), he just “happened” to hit the channel that had a showing of Great Performances and Sting, singing 16th century ballads (Songs from the Labyrinth, music by John Dowland) . The music was phenomenal and, of course Sting, sings beautifully. We ate dinner to the most beautiful music I’ve heard in a long time. And it made me think of the term “serendipity”.
I have been reflecting on my last year, when my husband and I took a “year” off and traveled the West and a little bit of Europe. It made me realize that serendipity is out there, you just have to act on it. Our taking this trip was not serendipity. We planned, worked and saved to make it happen. Serendipity is finding a perfect camp spot and taking a narrow, hazardous dirt road to find a gorgeous valley in Colorado. It is also driving though a small town on the 4th of July, realizing that you are part of a parade through town, but not stopping to enjoy the experience. It is finding a vendor in Amsterdam who, while shooing pigeons off her bread, is willing to speak broken English to find out where you are from and enjoy the picture you share with her. (We didn’t buy any bread!) It is bemoaning the fact that you have to rush from Fairbanks to Whitehorse because the snow is pushing you southwards and you don’t have the time to stop and enjoy what you are discovering. It is finding a bar in a small town on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, that just happens to have a local Irish band playing for that night only and enjoying an evening of Irish music & dance. It is finding a ruin in the fog and you are the only ones there. It is arriving home, ready to take off again, but he perfect job is there waiting for you. What do you do?
If nothing else, listening to Sting tonight made me realize that Serendipity is every much that pink sea serpent…something wonderful to stop and enjoy…and share.
2 comments:
One of the hardest things I've had to train myself to do is to allow myself to suffer inspiration. I want to think things through, to make plans, to organize and arrange, but it's hard to be inspired when you control everything. I've learned that you have to go where the current takes you, observe what you see and open your mind to new things. I guess I learned that from a little pink sea monster.
I know exactly what Mother G. means. A simple, unexpected event can make you feel so damn good you want to weep for the beauty it. I suggest, however, that Serendipity is even more delicious when paired with Synchronicity. Because then, your good fortune becomes that much more momentous - it wasn't just an accidental discovery, it was an experience that was meant to be.
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