Contemplating going back to work part-time, I am reading a wonderful book by Marcus Bach called “The World of Serendipity.” In it he talks about engaging in life with less planning. He defines serendipity as an unexpected discovery of something worthwhile during a search for an expected something worthwhile. I love that concept.
Last year I took a sewing class for a Serger machine. On the first day of class, our instructor asked each of us what we wanted to get out of the class. I told her that I wanted to learn how to do a hem stitch with regular stitching on the right side and an overlock on the underside.
During the last class, she went through and made sure that all of us got what we had been looking for and when she got to me, she told me that all I needed was to get a twin needle on a single shaft and put it in my regular sewing machine. Turns out that the bobbin toggles between the needles to give that “overlock” look. I got what I needed while learning how to do something complete different.
Mr. Bach goes on to tell us that, “everything has meaning even though the meaning may not be immediately clear.” I take this to mean that declaring everything as good even when life is challenging will lead to that “unexpected” something else.
When we deeply think about that concept, it makes life a lot more interesting and we can accept that challenge as a “divine command” and do it joyfully and with the best of good intentions. We know that that always leads to something else that’s good.
All of this leads to a most interesting insightful life. Everything matters. Everything has meaning. And usually, it leads to something fabulous and wonderful in life.
The secret? Do the unexpected. Surprise yourself.
