“Serendipity is when you find things you weren’t looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damned difficult.” ~ Erin McKean
A few weeks ago, I caught the Covid bug (rather it caught me) and I was sidelined for a few days. This incident reminded me that I ought to get a Covid booster shot as soon as possible. But at the time the vaccine was not available, and I relegated this matter to the back of my mind.
Then yesterday I went to Kaiser Permanente to get a new pair of glasses. After I stepped out of the Optical Center, I noticed a long line of people across the hall.
I suddenly thought about what I once read about the old Soviet Union. In the “glory days” of the regime when everything was in short supply, people usually carried a bag with them. Just in case… when they saw a line anywhere, they automatically joined the queue without bothering to find out what the end product was. Better get a little bit of anything than nothing at all.
So, I approached the line and enquired what it was all about. Covid and flu booster shots I was told. It just happened to be a true case of serendipity; the occurrence, of something by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Without specifically looking for it, I came across what I was searching… and I ended up with two sore shoulders.
Famous cases of serendipity include Penicillin, radioactivity, X-rays, microwave…
“It’s a bizarre but wonderful feeling, to arrive dead center of a target you didn’t even know you were aiming for.” ― Lois McMaster Bujold
Serendipity exists everywhere, even in pétanque. I have seen it a thousand times… maybe a little less. Your opponent tries to hit one of your boules… he grossly misses but serendipity intervenes, and he ends up gaining 3 undeserved points. The infernal luck!
Serendipity is around looking to make someone happy. If your heart is pure and if you are a true Democrat, it will find you.
Alain