Serendipity: A Catalyst For Change Birthright

I suspect many potential moments of revelation have been lost due to a past negative perspective which I had towards opportunities presented to me. Since setting out on newer paths, I have come to see firsthand that we have within each of us the potential to channel creative energies towards stimulating serendipitous events.

Our global communities are entering into complex and chaotic phases of societal transformation where the outcomes are not known. In these newer, uncertain, socioeconomic frontiers, ideas and their manifestations are considered precious currency. Creatively charged conditions, conducive to an advent of social invention and innovation, will draw us closer to that Breakpoint when emerging trends become accepted into mainstream society. Unleashing our creative potential can only sharpen our sensitivities to what unprecedented opportunities serendipity has always been so willing to reveal.

Many discoveries made in life are beyond our control. For example, ten years ago, I met a middle-aged man who after setting ambitious plans for the rest of his life, discovered he had cerebral palsy. He used to say, "Just as you plan something, life happens!" In the wink of an eye everything changes.

Perspective has everything to do with transforming abstract moments in time into a potential for serendipitous discoveries. Insignificant or negative events can suddenly change into fortuitously being "in the right place at the right time". His bath water overflowing, Archimedes focused on the displacement of bodies instead of the inconvenience of a messy floor.

A breakpoint is the stage in the development of systems such as culture or society, when the defining rules suddenly change. At this stage, the old rules no longer apply, even operate in total opposition to those which applied prior to the breakpoint.

Common examples cite the massive cultural and societal changes experienced between the Agricultural (First Wave) and Industrial Age (Second Wave). According to The Third Wave and Power Shift written by Alvin Toffler, the Second Wave has not yet petered out and the Third Wave is about to crash down upon the second. Changes stemming from such developments within the computer, information, bio and nanotechnology industries define the Third Wave

To complicate matters even further, there are now those professing that a Fourth Wave has already started to form.

My favorite uncle and mentor - Burke Brown, was one of the founding directors and vice-chairman of the Canadian Industrial Innovation Centre which published a newsletter called "Eureka!" Uncle Burke is a well-read man. One particular area of his diverse interests is money and how it controls us. Burke's life-long observations, experiences with inventors, marketing their inventions, and a recent concern for his grandchildren's future, have brought him to deep contemplation.

Uncle Burke is setting the stage for discovering inventions, but not of the nature he is normally familiar with. His instincts are telling him that a serendipitous discovery is there, somewhere, for the taking. It is just a matter of time and place, not of his choosing however, preparing for it is!

His 'grandkids project' website, mathematicalexperience.com, is his work in progress. Absent, are the annotated quotations ordered according to their importance. I suggest however, that the Galton demonstration a bell curve that is presented, dynamically portrays an 80 percent statistical probability factor wherein greater serendipity can and must occur, if the breakpoint is to be reached without tragic civil unrest. Leaning on Breakpoint and Beyond by George Land and Beth Jarman, Barry Carter wrote in his book Infinite Wealth' that upheavals much like "9.6 out of 10 million Native Americans [dying] because of clashes" between pre-Industrial and Industrial Age societies, typically preceded historical breakpoints.

According to the Galton bell curve, it would seem that fate offers up more fleeting dark moments than bright ones; all are opportunities for enlightening discovery. Serendipity applies more to maximizing situations creatively than it does to waiting or hoping for fortunate accidents to haphazardly happen. Do I control my fate, or does Fate control me?

I have always held Eastern philosophies of life in the highest regard. The Chinese word for crisis is comprised of the symbols danger and opportunity. The Ying Yang is one of the most elegant symbols to capture the reality of life's phases. Light and dark areas, respectively represent the co-existence of good and bad. The two, equally segment the circle of life wherein survival can become an issue of controlling fate in order to attain a fair degree of wholistic living.

Necessity, the "Mother of Invention" gave serendipity its birthright to being 'the' catalyst for change! As we stand together at the Breakpoint threshold, for future generations' sake, the choice for more inclusively prosperous communities has never been more apparent. To swiftly regain the quality of life and work lost over the past few decades, we will need to replicate conditions that existed at the moment Archimedes entered into the bath, which was destined to overflow. So many of us could be streaking about yelling "Eureka!" if we only used more unrestrained creative abilities.

I have yet to run naked through town yelling "Eureka! Eureka!" but for your entertainment, I did drive down the highway once yelling, "Yes! Yessss!! OH WOW!!!! YEEESSSS!!!" Having had so many since then, I cannot exactly recall what stimulated that first intellectual orgasm. I can tell you this much; a world undergoing societal transformation offers up unprecedented possibilities for social invention. To that end, I along with others, have been busy drawing your baths.

The Catalysts 4 Change bath is a social experiment from which we hope internal exploration and discovery will overflow. Everyone is invited to participate. As introduced by my November's Against All Odds: Redefining Socioeconomic Trends article, interviewees have already started to assemble. You can freely visit the C4C-Panel and view the C4C-Panel and view the messages posted by a panel of Champions for Change, Cultural Creatives and Steward Leaders. Each panelist joining had been asked to contribute two posts: One introducing themselves and/or their organizations operating on the edges of societal change, and the second revealing what they see as defining catalysts for change within their particular areas of expertise or interest.

They had agreed to be the first subjects of what was hoped to be a unique series of interactive interviews. Readers were asked to review their posts and submit to me, any questions pertaining to either the catalysts they had outlined, their personal involvement, or dedication to nurturing and facilitating societal change.

I will grant you that the flood of participation I had hoped for a year ago, was never realized. That was however, just the second important aspect of this serendipitous initiative. The first is to provide a format out of which greater awareness for, and personal interest in societal transformation might emerge. In continuing with our initial intentions of involving readers, the entire series of C4C articles and interviews to date, have been replicated at the Quick Topic servers. There readers can effortlessly contribute to bringing the articles to life by adding comments, reflections, ideas - even criticism - to any paragraph marked by a blue dot. An eye-glass icon accompanying a blue dot, is an indication that someone has left their mark on the article. You can even subscribe to receiving an email whenever new comments have been made, replying to them right from your email program.

So, if you have not yet experienced the Quick Topic version of the Catalyst 4 Change, you can go to the C4C archive listing, select the Quick Topic version of the most intriguing title and speak your mind.

There are powerfully compelling reasons why we are approaching the Breakpoint. Without it's catalysts, serendipity does not just happen. Like any invention, social invention is only the end result of a quest. It is within the quest to overcome obsolescence that the catalysts for change can begin to work. Then, when you least expect it, the bath water overflows, you excitedly run around yelling "Eureka! Eureka!"and everything changes.