Fateful Serendipity

Serendipity. Don’t you just love that word? Webster defines it as “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident; good fortune; luck.” The main character in the movie of the same name (Serendipity, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, 2001) described it as “a fortunate accident as opposed to fate. You do not need to really understand it, you just have to have faith in destiny.” So already my brain is questioning the difference between serendipity, fate, and destiny. And when you add faith to this deliberation, it just becomes a confusing mess. Yes, I know, this is my usual state of mind. I obviously have too much time on my hands to think.
 
This is actually a fun debate though. Both fate and destiny allude to acts that were inevitably predetermined while serendipity and faith show personal aptitude or belief, prescribed by a course of events or the natural order of things. I believe we are all given many choices in life (i.e., fate/destiny) but it is the path we choose that determines who we really are (i.e., serendipity/faith). But do we choose those paths by accident or personal intent? Or, unbeknownst to us, are they secretly set in stone by a predetermined plan? Ooh, I love this. Now it is really getting messy.
 
All that aside for the moment, to further confuse an already confusing soliloquy, what is luck? Webster, my favorite go-to guru, says it is “the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life, as in shaping circumstances, events or opportunities.” Isn’t the English language diabolically mind-blowing? Each of these definitions intertwines. So, what is this “force” called luck - fate, destiny, serendipity, or faith?
 
We all know that any and/or all these forces come home to roost in our everyday lives, and it is impossible to determine if one can exist solely without one or more of the others. This thing called life is far beyond my level of comprehension. The debate, however, does bring to light thoughts and actions that have erroneously guided my journey.
 
As months, weeks, and days slip away into sunsets, even during the most recently washed-away minutes, my path is mysteriously bathed in only good fortune. I really do wonder if this is the truth of my existence or just a state of mind. For the longest time, I believed I was just fated to be alone with an intellectually annoying curiosity. The fact is I have lived serendipitously most of my life. I am one incredibly lucky lady. I have an unlimited capacity to learn and grow and to sustain myself through good times and bad. I have loved and been loved. I am surprisingly astonished with reasons to smile, be happy, and survive every day. That, my friends, is serendipity.
 
Good fortune is not always defined by a bank balance, street address, or vehicle registration. It is defined by attitude, seized opportunities, and a pursuit of love, lust, and passion with reckless abandon. Lust? Can I admit that in a public forum? Ah, but that is fodder for yet another rant.
 

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