One of my core beliefs is centered on serendipity. Letting go of the concept of outcome and surrendering myself to the universe to see what life has in store for me has been a fundamental learning for me over the past decade.
In reality this form of mental surrender is one of the most difficult things you can do. Not surprisingly, it’s not a “one and done” type of thing. To be clear it’s a constant, and day-by-day journey.
I’m not sure about you but from a young age I was always conditioned to push hard in life and drive toward your objectives no matter what. Almost with a take no prisoners attitude to achieving what I wanted. 🙌🏼
After much anguish I realized that this approach wasn’t always successful, nor did it provide me the outcome or satisfaction that I sought.
In fact, quite the opposite in a lot of situations…
It’s taken years, but I finally realized the benefits of letting go of outcomes and being open to what life has in store for me.
I’ve often been surprised when a situation has been presented to me that I didn’t expect. Those veritable “fork in the road moments“, you know the ones I’m talking about.
I’ve always felt that these, often small, and inconsequential moments can change the course of your life and propel you on a totally different path… ❤️
What do you do when you encounter these situations?
Do you tend to stick with your tried-and -true approach to life and go the planned and expected route? Or do you take a step back, weigh your options before surrendering and stepping into the unknown?
This form of surrender and letting life take you allows room for the unexpected.
This is at the heart of serendipity! 👍🏼
I realize not all of us are comfortable with this sense of freedom of thought or action…
One of the first things I learned when I began yoga was to set my intention for my practice.
Initially I had resisted and resorted to my normal competitive mindset, measuring my practice against others in the class or gains since my prior class.
However, over time I began to internalize my breathing and the mental side of yoga to open my mindset and the feelings of surrender and peace in my day-to-day life.
I realized that it was okay to just let go and breath!
Such a powerful lesson to learn.
I want to be clear, letting serendipity guide my life is not about a lack of ambition, trying hard or having goals and objectives.
It means not being tied to the outcome which often leads us to serendipitous situations and moments.
For me this is the essence of my life… surrendering and taking a path less travelled. ❤️🙌🏼
If we can open our mindset to being open to take a different path and surrender ourselves to the possibilities, then we can often discover a whole new dimension to living our best lives.
It’s these moments that we weren’t looking for or hadn’t expected which often lead us down a totally different path from what we may have planned…
Sometimes we have to get out of our own way to allow life to guide us, instead of us pushing all the time and thinking we’re in control.
To me, this way of living is the spice of life! 👍🏼
So, let’s take a step back and review the laws of serendipity:
- Caring less about outcomes
- Surrendering yourself and letting life come to you
- When faced with a fork in the road being courageous and choosing the unexpected path to see where it takes you
- Staying open to new pathways and journeys
- Getting out of your head, and not trying to control every facet of your life
- It’s okay to change your mind(set)
- Trusting your intuition and going with the flow.
As you can see these changes are not just cosmetic or a one-time thing which happen overnight…
Changing your mindset is a lifelong commitment to embracing a different way of living. Unfortunately, not all of us are willing or equipped to handle this massive change because it often goes against everything that we’ve been taught in life.
I’m sure many of you are shaking your head right now and thinking “yeah – nah” this is definitely not for me.
That’s okay, cos as I said this isn’t for everyone.
In fact, it’s good to be a little cynical or wary, as many of you will need to move slowly to embrace one or two of these laws initially, before building your confidence and pushing your boundaries into the other changes.
My only comment is that to live your best life you may need to change the way you look and interact with the world so why not experiment a little and start off small!
Until next week
Ciao!
1 Comment on "The Laws of Serendipity…"
Jake
October 1, 2022Ithaka
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.