Serendipity
Serendipity is a propensity for making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated. The word has been voted one of the ten English words that are hardest to translate.
In college I took a creative writing class where I was required to write a paper about my favorite word, and I chose serendipity. It’s always been one of my favorite words, and it’s quite true about it being hard to describe – it’s more a feeling than anything else.
Unfortunately for me, I was in college long before the Serendipity movie came out, so I couldn’t even draw from that for inspiration. I was forced to write about my own personal experiences with it, and in some instances could only guess about the eventual outcome of those experiences. {In retrospect, it’s a quite laughable piece of drivel that I was most fortunate to receive a passing grade for producing.}
The enchantment of serendipity, though, doesn’t really lie with the word itself, but with the concept. It’s entwined with other romantic notions like fate and destiny, and generally presented to us in a very sparkly, alluring little package. For a dreamer like me, the draw of serendipity is almost impossible to resist.
Yet over the years, I suppose that dreamy quality of mine has been tainted with a bit of cynicism. I’ve been burned. I’m no longer convinced that serendipity exists, and I wonder how often we find only exactly what we were looking for all along. Isn’t it easier to chalk the course of our lives up to destiny, instead of believing that we determine our own lot in life? I wonder how many times we make a mark in the ‘fate’ column, when really it’s a cop-out that allows us to avoid making an actual decision.
Does putting stock in a concept like serendipity rob you of your own decision-making power? Does it take away from our sovereign God, who knew the beginning and end of your story even before He created you?
Quote from the movie: “Holding on to concepts like fate and destiny stops us from doing the real work.”
Serendipity.
Where do you stand?
Tags: destiny, fate, serendipity
How I See the World | Heather August 24, 2010
Facebook comments:
By Karen Chase Walker, August 24, 2010 @ 11:58 am
Thought provoking. Personally, I do not believe there are accidents of any sort. Even a car crash doesn’t just happen by accident, God knows in advance what will be. So I don’t think that a word like serendipity takes anything away from God, who are we to do that? He holds all the power now and always. As I said though, I don’t believe in accidents so I don’t suppose I really believe in serendipity, either.
Sometimes we feel the need to put a word on things that cannot be labeled.
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By Chrissy, August 24, 2010 @ 2:46 pm
I believe in serendipity, and I think it is what brought me to my husband. I had a completely different vision for my life-where I’d be, who I’d marry, etc. Serendipity in the form of a missed flight introduced me to Steve and nothing in my world has ever been the same. Of course ultimately it was God who put us in the right place at the right time, but I don’t see anything wrong with calling His blessing a little bit of serendipity.
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By Jen, August 24, 2010 @ 6:57 pm
Girlfriend, you are way too deep these days. You’re wearing me out and hurting my tired brain. Go back to fluff!
I like the word Serendipity. Haven’t thought about it any deeper than that.
Free anytime this week?
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By Darcie - Such The Spot, August 25, 2010 @ 10:45 pm
I’m with you, I’m afraid. I used to consider myself a dreamer, though not of the head-in-the-clouds variety. I just dreamed big, and believed all the while that each and every one of those dreams would quite likely come true. My how the years change things. Now, my “big dreams” are for my children. This post makes me miss that ol’ serendipitious self of mine though. And makes me wish I knew you back then, too.
Darcie – Such The Spot´s last [type] ..It Was A Dark and Stormy Night
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