Serendipity - my tarte tatin, do you know it?
This week, I wanted to talk to you about serendipity.
I can already see some people frowning, wondering where this word that is not very familiar to you could come from. The definition that we can find in the dictionary, in which the word appeared only a few years ago, boils down to the art of finding what we are not looking for, or even the fact of making a discovery by chance . Does this help you?! Those who have read The Impossible is My Hope , Charlotte's book, must certainly see what I'm talking about... Because as she often says, "I am the product of an error". Daring - and succeeding - to transform, through a combination of circumstances, a terrible ordeal into something as beautiful as Mister K is, that's what we call serendipity. There are several types of serendipity:
- The discoveries while we are looking for something else, like Christopher Columbus and the American continent.
- The discoveries by observing a phenomenon, such as Georges de Mestral, who while trying to rid his dog of the burdock hooks which had clung to him, had the idea of Velcro. (NB: always have a Michka or equivalent close to you…).
- Or discoveries by mistake, such as Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, who one busy day in their hotel, put an apple pie in the oven, forgetting the dough, they added it on top of the caramelized apples, serving it as is. A delicious mistake in short!
Because in reality that's it. It's the good coincidence, the happy chance, the event that comes at the right time without us expecting it or the mistake that becomes brilliant!
This happened to me about fifteen years ago, when I had an appointment with a professional contact for a job (which I must admit did not appeal to me that much). A passenger incident on my metro line, 25 minutes late, the person cannot wait, and when I arrive there they are no longer there... I leave disappointed when I see a long-time friend enter, with whom I begin a major conversion at the turn of which he tells me that he is looking to hire in his communications agency. My first job started 1 month later! In short, you might not call it that, for you it's probably a stroke of luck, a beneficial mistake... but in reality it's serendipity.
“People who want something strongly are almost always well served by chance.”
- Honoré de Balzac
This famous “when you don't look you find” takes on its full meaning here even if we cannot completely rely on the fruit of chance if we want our luck to change. Everyone agrees that we must know how to maintain serendipity, provoke it and open our eyes to what surrounds us to seize opportunities. It's a whole state of mind to cultivate in order to make discoveries and transform opportunities into reality! For example, you could decide to get out of your comfort zone and your daily routine by changing your route or means of transportation to go to work in the morning. Who knows what or who you might bump into on this new journey? A long-lost friend who praises his career as a naturopath, even though you feel the need to radically change your lifestyle... A charming florist whom you have never passed before, who begins to court you tirelessly ... ! Without being so cliché, the idea is to open up to new things and agree to meet new people, to trust them, to go to places where we are not used to. to go to provoke fruitful encounters or discoveries. The goal is not necessarily to achieve a radical life change. It's just about seizing the opportunity in our life to see what new and beneficial things it could bring us. Like Charlotte, who was able to bounce back by telling herself that this illness did not happen by chance, and that something positive had to be done with it.
To reassure yourself of the magical powers of serendipity, remember to regularly write down the coincidences that have paved the way for your life.
The more you visualize them and pay attention to them, the more they will multiply. I'm not saying that they will all lead to a golden opportunity, but they will have the merit of making you aware that they exist and of motivating you in this direction. Just be curious! By digging into a topic you like, by discussing it, you might find much more interesting information than you expected. Dare to make a mistake, the path, the partner, the reasoning, the recipe... observe what happens and don't try at all costs to correct the situation. Trust your intuition and put your reason aside, perhaps these mistakes which seem catastrophic to you at first will turn out to be conducive to wonderful projects! This is what happened recently at Mister k, a beautiful tarte tatin that you will soon discover and which I am sure will delight you!
Nib: BPB
In October 2019 in Bercy, Charlotte spoke about Tarte Tatin during the Bang at #innogeneration, the annual meeting of @bpifrance... Check out the video!