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When I read the question this week, I was thinking about what exactly serendipity is and I realized that although I have a working understanding of what this word means, I couldn't actually give a definition. I was happy to see that Maiya had already provided us with a definition. One part of the definition that seems a bit strange to me, however, is how it the word is a faculty for making unexpected pleasant discoveries. I do not really understand how someone can have an aptitude for making accidental discoveries. Isn't it all chance? If we consider Eva's story about the red ribbon again, I can't see how this had anything to do with Eva's ability to experience unexpected happy events. It seems like the red ribbon showed up on the door independently of Eva's actions.

The idea of allowing serendipity also made me think about how most young children are taught about random acts of kindness.When we unexectedly do something nice for someone else, are we maybe helping the other person experience serendipity? I think that by teaching people at a young age that it is important to help others, often anonymously, we are actually teaching children to create serendipity in the world.