Do you believe in Serendipity?

 

Do you ever feel like going to a meeting or an event is a waste of time only to be pleasantly surprised of something that happens there?  That in a nutshell is "Serendipity" (I also know it's a delicious ice cream restaurant in New York and Miami Beach but let's try to stay focused).  The official definition of "serendipity" by Dictionary.com is "an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident."  If you think about it, this definition sounds just like the definition of "luck" except that the word "aptitude" makes it seem like it's an ability that one can possess.

This past week, I attended a conference in Baltimore called The General Assembly put on by The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA).  The General Assembly's mission is to bring together all the organizations in the Jewish world that are helping take care of the needy in our communities, in Israel and around the world.  Although it was great to see friends and listen to great speakers, I often thought of why was I there and did I really need to be away from my family and business.

Then Serendipity happened.  I was walking around the Baltimore Inner Harbor trying to grab lunch where the Dolphins game would be on TV and I ran into some friends of mine who I ended up having lunch with.  I then was supposed to have dinner with a big group of friends but ended up only being 3 female friends and I.  My fear was that this would be a long dinner talking about shoes but it ended up being a very meaningful conversation about life and spirituality.  The next night, I went to a dinner with other participants from Miami and the only seat left was next to one of the Rabbis of our community which led to a great conversation about our day schools.  The next day, I went to a session on politics and ended up sitting next to two college students who I was able to help out with some contacts for a job in Washington.  I felt great that these moments kept happening so I started a mission to create those moments instead of just waiting for them. 

If you went into every conversation, meeting or meal believing that something good was going to come from it, you will be pleasantly surprised that something good will come but not because you are lucky or serendipitous, but because you made it happen.

This is what the Live As If blog is all about.  Live your life as though there is some connection or higher power guiding us and you will live a much more meaningful and fulfilling life.  Please comment below regarding serendipitous moments you have had.  Now let's go have Serendipity Ice Cream!

Editors Note:  Many people have commented that they enjoy reading our blog and that they would like to write a post.  This blog was meant to be a conversation so if you would like to write a post, please let Craig or I know.