Life Really is Good

Have you ever pursued a dream, whether it was a home, a job, or a relationship, only to find that the pot at the end of the rainbow was full of fool's gold?

It has happened often enough to me that I long ago decided to lower my expectations. That way the disappointment is less when the goal ultimately proves to be less than what I had anticipated.

Only recently I discovered that there is another way to go about this without giving up the thrill of anticipation or the joy of fulfillment. There is even a lovely word for it--serendipity.

Serendipity is the fortunate chance of happily stumbling upon a pleasant experience, sheerly by chance. Usually it comes at just the right moment to make you catch your breath and believe all over again that life is wonderful.

This weekend, in the country, I met serendipity. It came in the shape of a beautiful red trillium, where no trillium ought to be, and certainly not a red one. At once I recognized how truly serendipitous it was! I was neither hoping for nor expecting it, but there it was, a joy in miniature...