Stumbling Into Serendipity

Exploring often brings about serendipity - the spotting of ideas totally unrelated to what you went searching for.
- Sam Harrison (from IdeaSpotting, How To Find Your Next Great Idea)

Serendipity is often tied to the idea of good fortune.  Good fortune as a concept get's mixed reviews.  Sometimes people love the thought of "feeling lucky" while at the same time resenting other people who "are lucky" all of the time. It also gets mixed reviews simply because while we like the idea of being lucky, we don't like the unfairness of undue advantage, especially if it isn't happening for us. Within the concept of serendipity, however, an unexpected but pleasant discovery is often well received because, well, at least you were out there looking for something!

As creative people we are always in search of something. I know a number of people who are only thriving if they are out on the edge of something new and exciting (or at least new and exciting to them.)  I have been in that situations a number of times in my life, too. I love adventure and have a passport full of stamps to prove it.  I have lived in multiple countries and traveled to quite a few continents and countries. My eyes are like a camera snapping photos all the time and my mind is working hard to blend it all together in the collage that is my life. But not all adventures are equally memorable and sometimes the near-non-adventure lingers in my mind longer than the long expensive trips. Why is that?  I think I am beginning to figure it out.

In the Bible a guy named Paul says, "I have learned to be ​​content in whatever circumstances I am." The first million times I read that I can tell you I said to myself, "I don't want to end up living a life that is merely CONTENT." It really seemed like the bar was set way too low on that one.  Like, maybe there was a personality difference between me and Paul of the Bible. Maybe he was the kind of guy who was fine with walking around a small town or sitting on a porch with an old dog or maybe he was patient like the character Tom Hanks played in "Cast Away" when he spent 6 months making rope out of tree bark!  Admittedly, I am not a "sit around making rope" kind of guy. Maybe my personality is never going to naturally "be content" when my personality... no, my SOUL seeks adventure!

This is high drama and while I might be able to fool myself into believing that, I also happen to know that Paul from the Bible had amazingly adventurous moments (chained to a ship on the high seas in the middle of a record setting storm only to get shipwrecked on an island.) I also know that he was straight-up in lockdown for years, later imprisoned under house-arrest and then also spent time in a hole. How do you find your way to "content" when in a hole?

The answer is in what he writes, I think.  Paul didn't say he "knew how to be content, so just be content people" he said "I learned." And learning is a creative act of will. You have to observe, and be introspective, and synthesize the situation, the information, and then experiment until you finally truly understand.

So here is where serendipity comes into play.  Learning to be content is a search, it is an adventure of sorts. And along the way unexpected discoveries are made, which I think is a huge part of what leads a person to "be content."

So here is my new personal challenge.  High adventure is like a cheap sugary drink to me.  It easily gets my brain buzzing for a while but then I just need more to keep that feeling. While at the same time, I hardly ever slow down enough to "learn" about the joy of "contentment" that surrounds me.  I am surrounded by the entertainment and distraction that is high adventure and regulary neglect the hidden opportunities to find the contentment. Here is the big lie that wraps up high adventure: it doesn't come with contentment. It distracts me from my human need for contentment and my lack of contentment.

Here is how I am going to challenge myself: typically my day starts at 7am.  I am up quickly and dressed and to work by 7:45am.  Then I quickly change and work out until 8:45am.  Then I quickly change back and grab some oat meal at the cafeteria near work and get to my desk by 9am to start working.  I don't stop until about 6pm at night when I sometimes get a second workout in before heading home.  By 7:30pm I am home and make a sandwhich or some soup and watch TV until about 10pm.  Then I read until about 11:30pm or 12pm and make myself go to bed because 7am comes early and I will likely wake up at 2am and not be able to sleep for an hour or so. Then I do it all again the next day.  Where in the world am I making an effort to learn to be content.  The most peaceful part of my day is when I am sitting in front of the TV and that is kind of sad I guess.  So, since that is when I have time, I am going to start to take more time to pray and just take walks around the neighborhood or sit on the porch, or go find a hole to sit in somewhere, until my eyes and heart start to find contentment. I am not about to give up on high adventure.  I should be able to be content with that as well. But with everyday life, I think everything has to slow way down to see well enough to learn how to "be content."