A few weeks ago, one of those quirky encounters with someone or something that somehow changes your life occured to me. I have shared the story of the actual encounter broadly and it never fails to draw a smile from the listener.....and from ME!
Many would poo-poo it and chalk it up to coincidence....*sigh*....but I don't believe in coincidence.....anyway.....at the end of the evening I observed that it was "serendipity"......which resulted in a brief exchange on the meaning of "serendipity".
I said, Serendipity is an unexpected gift......my friend had a different definition....and that made me smile, too.
So I did some research on Serendipity. It seems that the word was coined in regards to an obscure, silly fairy tale titled "The Three Princes of Serendip" and is attributed to Horace Walpole (1717-1797)....no wait, it appears the fairy tale was first printed in Venice in 1557 by Michele Tramezzino.....guess Michele just referred to Serendip though.....seems there are actual historical references to the Island of Serendip....
Walpole says it's "accidental sagacity" i.e. making discoverings of unexpected things by accident or sagacity...the discovery of things you weren't in quest of at the time.
Soooooo.....in regards to my recent experience.....Serendipity IT IS.....and my friend's definition, well, I am thinking NOT.... because while amazing it would almost always be considered an expected outcome....
In my reading on the subject, I came across another great quote that pretty much sums up how I live my life....John Barth, author of "The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor": You don't reach Serendip by plotting a course for it. You have to set out in good faith for elsewhere and lose your bearing serendipitiously.
Interesting, though....the impact of an unexpected gift...something to think about...
All in all, serendipity is an interesting thread in the fabric of my life....if you are interested go to http://livingheritage.org/three_princes
www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
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