The Joy of Serendipity

And Why Your Life May Need More of It

Many people, maybe even you my dear reader, feel like their lives don’t have the meaning they once imagined. Instead, they’re following the script:
Go to school.
Get a good job.
Work hard.
Start a family.
Retire.
Have fun.
Then die.

Hmmmm.

It’s tidy. Predictable. And for many, suffocatingly dull.

People follow this roadmap, check all the boxes… and still feel stuck. Unfulfilled. Like something essential is missing.

So today, I’m inviting you, whatever script you are following, to add one simple but wildly powerful ingredient to your life:

Serendipity.

It’s a delicious word. Nearly as fun to say as it is to experience. But I highly recommend that you live it rather than merely admire it as a concept.

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, serendipity is:
”The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way - example- a fortunate stroke of serendipity.”

In simpler terms:
A happy accident.
An unplanned discovery.
Good fortune.
Luck.
Being in the right place at the right time.
Meeting the right person at the right moment.

Not bad for one little word.

As a proud logophile (a lover of words and their meaning), I fell down the delightful rabbit hole of serendipity’s origin. It was coined in 1745 by writer Horace Walpole after his story The Three Princes of Serendip. In it, three princes make remarkable discoveries not because they set out looking, but because they noticed, observed, and remained curious - allowing accidents and insight to lead them to something extraordinary.

That philosophy has quietly guided much of my own life.

Here are just a few examples of serendipity at work:

Project Linus began because I overheard two women at a swimming pool talking about crocheting.

My husband, Gary, overheard me telling friends about a motorcycle trip to Telluride.

My writing path — now rich with community and creativity — blossomed because I happened to notice an advertisement for a writer’s retreat featuring Anne Lamott, one of my favorite authors.

Those moments could have easily slipped by.

I could have kept swimming and ignored the crocheting conversation. Instead, I asked the women to teach me. That led to making blankets, which led to wondering who might need them, which led to a conversation at a fundraising cocktail party with someone from the Rocky Mountain Children’s Center… which led to the birth of Project Linus.

Gary could have smiled politely and walked away. Instead, he followed up, asking if I had a motorcycle.
“I have two,” I replied.
He invited me on a ride.
That ride turned into a friendship.
That friendship turned into love.
And almost 25 years later… here we are.

In the 1970s, experts estimated that a person was exposed to around 500 ads a day. Today, that number is closer to 5,000.

What if that ad for the writing retreat had blurred into the background like the other 4,999? But for some reason - intuition, timing, readiness - I noticed it. I said yes. I ended up in Hollywood, meeting authors I admired, and joining a collective called A Writing Room.

Suddenly, the most solitary of pursuits - writing - became communal, playful, connected. Instead of sitting alone wondering if my words mattered, I found myself surrounded by voices, laughter, shared vulnerability, and the bold permission to create.

Serendipity didn’t stop there.

It meets us in grocery store lines, while waiting at airports, during driveway conversations with neighbors, or randomly when taking the dog for a walk. Most of these are “one-off” moments… unless we choose to lean in.

Some people are called “lucky.” But often, what we’re really witnessing is someone who is:
• Open
• Curious
• Observant
• Brave enough to respond

One of my single girlfriends jokes that the only way she’s going to meet a partner is if he delivers her mail or Amazon packages. While humorous, she’s not wrong in one way: the more places you show up, the more chances you give the Universe to work with you.

Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

My husband, Gary, used to laugh when I’d ask after his business trips, “Did you meet anyone interesting on the plane?”
“Nope,” he’d say.
Noise-canceling headphones on.
Laptop open.
No eye contact.

And yet… I have shared the most fascinating conversations with total strangers seated just inches away and 33,000 feet above the ground. People who may not look “important” by the world’s standards, but who carry stories so rich they could become a bestselling novel or a blockbuster film.

You don’t find serendipity by searching harder.
You find it by paying attention.

So here’s my invitation to you:

Have a plan. Have goals. Dream big.
But leave a little room for magic.
Allow the Universe to lean into your life with a playful nudge.

Say yes to the unexpected conversation.
Follow the tiny hunch.
Take the scenic route.
Raise your hand.

And when it happens, because I promise you it will, I would love to hear your story.

What has serendipity brought into your life?