happenstance.’ It is a ‘happy’ juxtaposition where we might feel surprisingly content, for instance in the wrong surroundings.
One of the best ways to explain the meaning of serendipity is to look at its origin. The word serendipity was first used by Horace Walpole, who included it in a letter to Horace Mann in the 18th Century. He described it as being inspired by a Persian fairy tale: The Three Princes of Serendip (Serendip is an old word from Sri Lanka). In this story he said, the three heroes were always ‘making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.’
Serendipity is not what happens when you find a sock that you have lost under the couch even though you were looking for the remote. Rather, it is that moment when you realise that you are actually happier having settled down to something that makes a meaning to your life you have no previous plans for.
Serendipity is the act of finding something valuable or delightful when you are not looking for it. In information technology, serendipity often plays a part in the recognition of a new product need or in solving a design problem. Web surfing can be an occasion for serendipity since you sometimes come across a valuable or interesting site when you are looking for something else. Serendipitous or accidental discovery of information has often been neglected in information behaviour models, which tend to focus on information seeking, a more goal-directed behaviour. Applying this same miss opportunity in life you can see how we miss out on opportunities because we expect things to happen in a certain way and feel it is of no use if it doesn’t happen in that curtained way.
You can miss out in serendipity if you are not paying attention to details. You might be too focus to accept the accidental opportunities that will bring you good fortune in life. This is why you ought to stay positive with an open mind. These happy coincidences happen more often than you think, opening up opportunities and bringing good fortune and even love, but only if you are paying attention and are willing to follow it through.
For serendipitous moments to really make an impact in your life, you have to act on them, making sure that these offered gifts are fully utilised and your good fortune maximised. Good luck is not something that is simply left to the gods or fate; it is something you can control through your own behaviour, particularly if you want to effect real change in your life.
According to research being conducted primarily in the United Kingdom, lucky or serendipitous people generate their own good fortune by virtue of the way they view life. Dr Richard Wiseman, a psychologist highlighted the significance of being open to new opportunities by studying people who consider themselves to be “unlucky.” He found that these people share characteristics that lessen their opportunities. Unlucky individuals, he discovered, are often more stressed and anxious than others, missing out on opportunities and the happy coincidences we call serendipity because they are unable to notice much of what is going on around them.
A miracle is an event that is not normal. A miracle is an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. In reality, everything around us is a miracle if only we can learn to see and recognise these miracles. By living your life as if everything is a miracle, every moment becomes something to savour and live in awe of. You naturally get to feel great appreciation and gratitude for your life, knowing that you are blessed with such miracles all around. I have been told that when you expect miracles you attract them and they occur frequently. Serendipity is a miracle. Expectations enable you to recognise them and take advantage of these unexpected accidents when they occur.
When you are preoccupied, frustrated or angry, your mind is not open to the people and things around you. There may be many missed opportunities, friendships and lovers that could have enriched your life, if only you’d been aware of their presence. So in order to maximise instances of serendipity in your life, you need to reduce your sense of anxiety and open yourself up to life. You need to learn how to make the best of the worst situation because there is a good in it, there is an opportunity in it and it is only when you have peace of mind you can be able to see the opportunity and take due advantage.
Opening yourself up is about learning how to become less self-focused. It’s about listening to those around you and learning, thinking and being interested in what is happening and what is being said. It’s about noticing where you need to focus your time and attention to allow success and happiness to blossom, and it’s about being generous, curious and enthusiastic about life.
You’re too busy and as a result you have been unable to spend time to think about your life. If you want to remain calm and open, which will have a positive effect on your physical wellbeing and also allow you to access serendipitous moments, you need to practise methods that ease the tension in your body and mind. Not every opportunity presented through serendipity is going to work out exactly the way you want because it is an accident you never planned for. Being open to serendipity will open up the opportunity for you to explore and take advantage whenever you encounter serendipitous moments. Every event is a learning opportunity. You can glean much wisdom by choosing to turn disappointments into something positive.
Sometimes you need a spontaneous decision to have a breakthrough in any given area of your life. This is what serendipity is all about. It has no unique order and shape. It is an accident, but you must be in the right attitude to identify the accident and explore the opportunities it offers. The Universe speaks to us all the time. There is never a time that the Universe is not communicating, always giving signs, pointing to the highest and best. The answers to all of our questions show up before our eyes. The trouble is we become so immersed in our busy lives that we don’t pay attention and we sadly overlook the messages.
Intuition is an inner knowing that comes from experience and truth. It’s a shift of awareness deep in your consciousness that gives a sense of the inherent truth of a situation or person. We all have intuition, but many of us either don’t listen to it or don’t feel confident enough to follow our instincts. Learning to trust your intuition simply takes practice.
