Precious, accidental moments

Life is a disorderly journey. You don't always get where you want to go or find what you're looking for. But if you stay open to the new and the unexpected, you may yet stumble upon other precious finds. Life, indeed, can be an exhilarating voyage of discovery.

Even scientists who are thought of as being orderly folk sometimes foul up. In fact, many of the important inventions we are enjoying today would not be around if scientists hadn't kept tripping and fumbling-and then learning from what happened at every fall.

Alexander Graham Bell conceived of the telephone while tinkering with a telegraph machine. The clumsy spill of gum rubber and sulfur on a hot stove gave Charles Goodyear the idea of how to vulcanize rubber. Percy Spencer's invention of the microwave oven was the result of an accidental discovery while he was experimenting with a magnetron for a radar system.

However, not everyone who stumbles upon a potential discovery is able to get something from it. Many pick themselves up and walk away. Some people dread an afternoon with absolutely nothing to do. They find the dullness hard to stand. Yet in such a time something can turn up, without one looking for it. All it requires is a certain openness to chance and a willingness to make a turn.

"Serendipity" is the gift for making valuable, accidental discoveries of things and ideas you weren't looking for. It is possible to grow your own gift of serendipity. All you need is to follow these simple steps:

Develop keen awareness. Suppose you lose your kid brother in a mall. You think of the color of the shirt the boy is wearing and, suddenly, the many other kids wearing the same color of shirt pop out in the crowd. Why is that? Because you are particularly keen on that color.

It's the same with serendipity. It begins with desire "to see" or "to find." When you're walking on the street, you may fail to notice many things, simply because they don't have any particular importance to you.

Set internal cushions. Since serendipity is frequently a side effect of disappointment or failure, you will need cushions to soften the fall-cushions of loyalty, love, conviction, and friendship. These must be kept in place so you can bounce back from misfortunes. Interests in the arts, sports, outreach projects and other involvements can also help a lot. You need as many cushions so that you always have another in case one fails.

Many retirees find a hobby they've nurtured over the years to be very effective in keeping them busy after leaving their jobs. Volunteer service can sustain one's sense of worth during low moments. And the company of a good friend can provide real solace in a time of sorrow.

Nurture eager curiosity. A little wonder can inspire you to desire to know more. A simple curiosity over a rain drop can lift your imagination to the heavens from where it came. Without curiosity, one can savor only a fraction of what he experiences. Curiosity and wonder drive many people onwards, always making connections between one thing and another, and another.

A curious mind is insatiable. When one question is answered, it asks more. And when it reaches a dead end, serendipity often suddenly appears to show a new path. You may not always know what to look for-but you should always be looking.

Have hopeful faith. There is a likeness between serendipity and optimism-an attitude of trusting the forces of life and circumstance which, after all, can transcend us. It is with such trustfulness that our life journey becomes less bewildering, less tiring, and less lonely. Perhaps the most serendipitous gift of all is not in accidentally striking upon a cache of hidden treasure while making a garden plot, but in the surfacing of a new insight.

Serendipity has some element of magic in it. It comes from out of the blue, often in perfect timing. On many occasions, serendipity is, if not divine, at least as precious as a peek at heaven.