Although
familiar with the word serendipity, I’d
not thought much about its origin or meaning.
Nor had I ever thought about the role serendipity has played in shaping
either my life or the course of history.
Quick
research revealed that Horace Walpole coined the word serendipity in a 1754 letter to his friend, Horace Mann. Evidently Walpole was impressed with a fairy
tale--“The Three Princes of Serendip” (now Sri Lanka) who were always making
discoveries by accident and sagacity of things that they were not
pursuing.
Over the years, serendipity’s meaning shifted from “accidents
and sagacity” to “looking for one thing and finding another.” Even many historical and significant events can
be attributed to such accidental and unexpected discoveries:
·
Columbus was looking for a new way to
India and found the Americas instead.
·
Before leaving for vacation, Alexander
Fleming didn’t disinfect bacteria cultures; upon his return, he found the
cultures contaminated with penicillium molds that actually killed the bacteria.
·
The Kelloggs brothers left cooked wheat
unattended for a day. When they tried to
roll the mass into a sheet, they inadvertently obtained a flaky material
instead. This discovery led them to
create the beloved breakfast cereal—Cornflakes.
When
I pause, I can certainly recount serendipitious moments in my own life. For instance, I’ve experienced sweet
scenarios reminiscent of those in the film Serendipity
(that delicious summer when my husband and I met while taking square dance
lessons). As well as such serendipity-based
coincidences, I’ve witnessed “negative coincidences” (The subway train door
shuts in my face just as I’m about to step on.); “neutral coincidences” (bumping
into my cousin at the local supermarket); and “real serendipity” (that summer
evening I dropped in on my brother-in-law who told me about a job vacancy at
his school—leading to an important move and career change.)
In fact, when I reflect upon my life, I can connect the
dots to the almost magical unfolding of people, places, and events leading me
to ponder: Exactly what is serendipity?
Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s just a higher power bringing important
events together.
