From the Founder, August 2018
Happy August!
I was honestly struggling to figure out what to blog about this month and then I had a conversation with the dynamic duo, Maddie and Mikaela (my fabulous assistants), and decided that serendipity (the only thing I could come up with) might be a worthwhile thing to talk about after all. I’m always thinking about serendipity. Sometimes recognizing it, sometimes looking for it, sometimes feeling grateful for it.
Straight from the dictionary…
ser·en·dip·i·tyˌserənˈdipədē/
noun
1. the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
“a fortunate stroke of serendipity”
synonyms: (happy) chance, (happy) accident, fluke;
When I brought this up with Maddie and Mikaela, Maddie said, “I love serendipity and I need more of it in my life.” We laughed and then dug a little deeper. Maddie hypothesized that the reason she doesn’t have much serendipity in her life is that she’s closed off, self-protective… not entirely open to it. Admittedly, this came as a surprise to me (and to Mikaela, who spends a lot of time with Maddie) – Maddie comes across as this warm, open, happy-go-lucky human. It was a good reminder that each and every one of us is complex. We are extroverted and introverted. We are open and self-protective. We are easy-going and high-maintenance. (OK, those are all ways I would describe myself, at least).
Serendipity finds us whether we’re looking for it or not. It’s all around us. Some of us may be more aware of it than others. Here are a few recent examples of serendipity in my life:
- I was stressing out about my trip to NYC this month because we’re going for meetings to promote our book and it seemed like lots of editors were away and/or unavailable to meet. The team was doing everything possible to make the trip worth our while and, with a few additional calls and emails, we were able to put together a super-solid schedule of meetings with all the right people (i.e., my stress probably wasn’t necessary or useful) – everything fell into place, schedule and all.
- I had gone out on several dates with a guy – we weren’t a match for practical reasons but we had a great connection and I was seeking closure; I drove by him making out with another woman on the side of the street (nowhere near where he lives, btw). Closure, thank you!
- On my flight to NYC, I’m sitting next to a woman with the most beautiful little baby (4 months old). As soon as I sat down, she mentioned that people always hate sitting next to babies but she’s hopeful that hers will be very well-behaved (even though they just flew all the way from Sydney to LA yesterday and are now flying to NYC…the baby’s first trip ever!) Needless to say, the woman is lovely, her daughter is magical and it left me with all good feelings.
- My mom’s doorbell rang and a young girl was standing there with a small dog that had been found nearby – the girl went to several houses but nobody was home. My mom (thankfully) took in the dog and put up signs around the neighborhood. She called asking what to do and said the dog had a collar but no tag. I stopped by to visit after my dinner only to see that the collar itself had the owner’s phone number on it and moments later, Tex was returned to his owner (my mom didn’t put on her glasses to look at the collar apparently). Thankfully I stopped by!
One of the things I mentioned to Maddie is that I find more serendipity when I’m smiling more, saying hi to strangers and going with the flow. Things magically unfold (actually, I believe they’re magically unfolding regardless but in this frame of mind, I’m more likely to be aware of them).
So smile, say hello to strangers and enjoy some extra serendipity through the end of summer!
xx
Amy