It's chilly outside! Yay! I'm bundled up in yoga pants, Ugg boots, and a cozy sweatshirt, sipping on my new favorite Shakeology recipe, watching "Serendipity," and grading essays.
My mom grabbed this issue of Skirt! Magazine while she was in Charleston last weekend, and I haven't stopped thinking about it! Serendipity is one of my favorite words, favorite movies, favorite parts of life.
What happens when we stumble upon something amazing and life-changing, by accident?
There’s an art to finding something when you’re not looking for it.
In my freshman class at the University of Florida, I require the 240 students to subscribe to the New York Times Monday through Friday. I haven't even finished announcing this in class the first day, when the hands shoot up.
"Can't we just read it online?" they ask, the duh? implicit.
"No," I say and the eyes roll. They think I'm some mossback who hasn't embraced new media.
"Why not?" Challenging, surly, chips on the shoulders.
"Because then you would only find what you're looking for."
He goes on to say, "it's the other stories, the secret stash in the business section, the sports section or on the obituary page, that stop you and make you read. Nuance gives life its richness and value and context. If I tell the students to read the business news and they try to plug into it online, they wouldn't enjoy the discovery of turning the page and being surprised. They didn't know they would be interested in the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines, for example. They just happened across that article. As a result, they learned something -- through serendipity."
An inexplicable connection with a place, a moment, a person, a work of art. If we stop planning and accounting for every minute, we leave the door open for a fortunate surprise. It's the unmistakable beauty in a spark of Serendipity. Let it find you.
Off to work...daydreaming about a place called Athens. A little serendipity. And pumpkin patches with my boys.
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