This afternoon I sat down to write a blog post, but my mind was empty. Or rather, every idea that came to mind was quickly dismissed. So, I decided to shift my perspective and take a walk. I might get an idea while out in the world. If nothing else, the walk would be a great opportunity for me to transition from the coaching I’d been doing all morning, to the writing I wanted to be doing in the afternoon.
I was responding to a text as I reached the local park. I had my eyes down, glued to my iPhone. (I’m way more adept at texting while walking than I should be.) I decided to put it away, so I could actually experience the world around me, instead of staying tethered to a smaller screen than the one I had just left behind.
When I looked up, I saw some high school aged kids and smiled at them. They were clearly having a good time. One of them approached me.
“Hey,” he said, “I need to give these flowers to a stranger, will you take them?”
“Of course.” Who says no to flowers?
“Can we take your picture while I’m giving them to you?”
“Of course.”
They explained it was for a photo scavenger hunt. They posed me under chalk writing that said, “You look lovely.” Then a couple of the girls got ready to leap frog. A boy did push-ups to count as a feat of strength. And, we took the picture. They were effusive in their thanks, having no idea that I would have played along, scavenger hunt or not.
I continued my walk, hoping to come up with something to write about.
As I headed out of the park, another boy in oversized dollar sign glasses came running up to me holding flowers.
“Did you want to give those to me?” I asked him.
He looked at me like I was a little crazy.
“Did you need to get a picture of it too?”
One of the other kids asked if I’d sing to him, or at least pretend to sing to him. He was holding an inflatable sword and shield. As we were posed for the picture, a girl came running through waving her sword and hoisting her shield.
I walked home, hoping to come up with something to write about.
Later, still not sure what to write about, I was talking with a friend, and told her the story. “How serendipitous, you walked out your door, had a fun experience and got something to write about.”
Oh right. Just as chance favors the prepared mind, you’ll never experience serendipity if you aren’t looking for it.
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