One of my favourite words.
Merriam-Webster calls it the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. Wikipedia simply defines it as a “happy accident” or “pleasant surprise”, specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it.
I had a lot of serendipitous moments yesterday. Such as Lilly falling asleep just as my hairdresser was ready to attend to my tresses for an overdue cut. Or getting a MoonWalk donation from said hairdresser, the eternally cool Karen, without having even asked for it. <I did ask for advice on brightly coloured hair dyes though>
And suddenly taken with the idea of sleep, Lilly nodded off again on the train home, which had me stopping in the platform waiting area to avoid waking her up being hauled down the treacherously steep steps at my home station. I doubt the sleep is a lasting love affair. In reality, I just think her little brain is temporarily overloaded from the recent introduction to culinary pleasures. Either that or hair salon fumes.
Anyway, said waiting area has got bookshelves in support of a lovely ‘take a book, leave a book’ concept. Perfect for a train station. And perfect for finding a book with the serendipitous title ‘Publish Now’ less than a week after having sent my book off to a publisher. I take it as a good omen.
Even yesterday’s gremlin attack had its silver lining: a new book idea popped into my head at 6 o’clock this morning. Don’t tell the gremlins though. They are sure to disapprove.
They probably don’t believe in serendipity either. But I do.