In 2006 there was a book published, called: “The Secret.” The crux of the book is that you can manifest what you want, by wanting and thinking. Uh huh. That bit of noise was a follow up to some drivel they tried to teach me at University, “that we create our own reality.” Uh…Bullshit.
Yet, there is a basis of “divine providence” that accumulates from experience. This happened to me again, just yesterday, where: I needed a thing, getting thing was going to be difficult, then thing appeared close by, free for the having. How about that? (Thing, in this case being a six foot piece of pressure treated 2×4.)
In the midst of my project, I ran an errand to a neighbor, and on the way back, bingo! 6 foot PT 2×4. No kidding. That saved me a trip to the depot. Serendipity.
Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. (dictionary.com)
Here is my experience and understanding on what just happened, my extended definition of serendipity. Mindfulness and an adherence to reality. That’s it.
Mindfulness has to do with my current state of sensitivities. Because I needed and was currently after something very specific, when I happened to come across it, I noticed it. Sensitivities are important (very) because there are more things present than we can consciously notice. Sensitivities are those things that trigger our attention. Mindfulness is our cognitive (conscious and sub-conscious) readiness to act on what we notice. My shortest blurb on this is: buy a car, and you’ll start seeing it everywhere. The change is our notice, not their presence.
As for an adherence to reality, it checks the notion that we somehow create these things from our thoughts. Coincidence happens all the time. Don’t go ascribing imaginative explanations to them. Reality is perfect, all things are obvious, it is we who do or do not see. Reality is what it is, regardless of what we think it is, or want it to be.
Serendipity is crucial to my well being. Many of the things I need, all the time, are already here. The less time I spend getting things I already have, the more time I have to produce the things I cannot get any other way. Serendipity is a force multiplier, just by better directing my efforts. And overtime, lots of things “roll out” for me.
Serendipity is also fun. The creativity used to recognize and utilize a diversity of resources for my own purposes, is my favorite kind of play. Always learning, always finding out if something will work, or not. Grateful either way. Engineering.
I don’t know if any of this makes sense to you, but my recent good fortune reminded me of this reliable component of life. Serendipity. Working on things engages it. Serendipity is a constant and reliable factor in my productivity. Wealth for the having. Free of ego and ideology. What better use of wits, and the time of day? Have at it!
David Weeks, Information Developer, Tampa, Florida.