And then there is serendipity.
I love the way that word sounds, but more than anything, I love what it means.
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From Webster:
serendipity
noun | sair-un-DIP-uh-tee
Serendipity is luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for.
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It has so much. But its origins are pretty neat-o Guido.
Serendipity does not come from Latin or Greek, like so many other of our words.
Instead, “serendipity” was created by a British nobleman during the 1700s. He made the word up from an ancient Persian fairy tale.
So. In the ancient fairy tale, the characters were always making discoveries through chance and good luck. So that nobleman made up the word meaning good luck in finding valuable things unintentionally.
It is like when you go to take an exam and forget to bring a pen. But lo and behold, someone had left an ink pen at an open desk in the exam room.
It’s when that first guy tripped and dipped his chocolate bar into the vat of peanut butter. Those moments.
Many good things come about through serendipity. Some of these moments have been significant in our history.
Take, for instance, penicillin. Its discovery happened by accident. Back in 1928, a scientist named Alexander Fleming took a break from his lab work. He had been investigating staphylococci. But every good Scottish biologist needs a vacation, so Alexander went on holiday.
When he came back home and settled into his lab, he found that one Petri dish had been left open. In that dish, a blue-green mold had formed. Serendipity. This fungus had killed off all surrounding bacteria in the culture.
Yes, one little mistake and mold were created. And that mold contained our powerful antibiotic, penicillin. The bacteria-fighting miracle.
Here’s another good find. X-Rays. In 1895, another man, Wilhelm Roentgen, was working with a cathode ray tube. He was a German physicist, and those guys do things like work on cathode ray tubes.
Anyway. The tube was covered. But there was a fluorescent screen nearby. And that screen would still glow when the tube was on, and the room was dark. Apparently, the rays were lighting the screen.
Wilhelm tried blocking the rays. But just about everything he put in front of the rays didn’t make a difference. And then? He put his hand in front of the tube, and there it was. He could see his bones in the image projected onto the screen. And the first x-ray image was born.
There are many other serendipitous moments throughout all of time. The Universe is a mighty wide place. And a lot can happen.
I love those moments when things open up, and something good happens. Something unexpected. Something that comes right on time.
Like penicillin. Or X-rays. Or Reese Cups.
May serendipity be with us today, every day, one and all.
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“Do you think the universe fights for souls to be together?
Some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences.”
― Emery Allen
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“How do any of us know where the strands of our lives are interwoven?”
― Claire Duende
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“Some people say coincidences are meaningful. That it’s the universe trying to tell you something.”
― Laurelin Paige
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Serendipity. Need I say more?
