serendipity

Serendipity is that perfectly timed, feel-good moment when things go right without a plan. Like stumbling onto a movie you’ve never heard of and realizing it slaps, before you actually got slapped… or opening the fridge and discovering leftover pizza you forgot existed. It’s the universe saying, “Relax, I got this.” type of movie scene.

Origin of – Late 1754, but who cares; coined by writer Horace Walpole, inspired by the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes kept finding good things they weren’t looking for. Translation: wandering into greatness with zero GPS, forget about living the Vida Loca, when “Life is like a box of chocolates.” according to Forest Gump — the original vibe-based movie.

Example: Finding the last warm slice of pizza right as the movie’s climax hit was pure serendipity, and honestly deserved its own standing ovation.

How to use: Use serendipity when something unexpectedly awesome happens — especially when snacks, music, or pop culture are involved: “Meeting my future podcast co-host while arguing about popcorn butter levels was total serendipity.”, but does have some truth to it, fascinating.