If you are waiting until you have free time to hop in your car and be spontaneous then you, like I, might blink your eyes and realize that another year has suddenly passed.
It is one of many reasons I love the House of Shine's annual event - "Seren-trip-ity."
The idea is simple. Heather, Cheryl, Misty, and I jump in the car, having given no consideration to where we are going, who we will meet, or what we will do when we arrive. All we know is we are in pursuit of "shine" and that fate - or shall we say, serendipity - will show us the way.
We left Grapevine, Texas at 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning, June 12, 2011.
The only thing we decided before leaving my driveway was that, if we were in pursuit of Shine we should let the spelling, S-H-I-N-E, serve as our oracle. We would follow each letter in order and at 2:18 p.m. - wherever we were - that is where fate meant for us to be.
I knew immediately we were off to a good start, since Starbucks most certainly starts with the letter, "s."
The four of us piled into my black Honda Pilot, with the window painted, "Honk if you Shine, www.houseofshine.com". We headed for the Starbucks located at Highway 121 and Glade Road in Euless, Texas. Cheryl covered the walkway with chalk, while Heather, Misty, and I got caffeinated.
Jonathan, our server, provided the first leg of our trip.
"Which way should we go - north, south, east, or west?", Heather asked.
"North," he replied.
"When should we stop?"
"When you see a skyscraper", answered Jonathan.
Off we went.
And then, about 12 minutes later, we realized I missed the exit for 121 north and, instead, we were traveling south east on 114.
The beauty of serendipity is knowing that any mistake we make must in some way be fated and that turning around might actually alter our intended destiny. We continued on 114E and, as fate would have it, eventually came face to face with the beautiful Dallas skyline on a quiet and warm Sunday morning. That's what Heather, Misty, and I saw. Cheryl, on the other hand, saw a handsome man running without a t-shirt shirt. So far so good.
A roll of the die dictated our next move.
Even, get off the interstate. Odd, keep going.
Even.
Another even roll of the die meant we must turn right again. And so, we ended up in University Hills where we drove until we came upon a beautiful public park, located at the corner of Rochelle and Durango.
From across the lake, we spotted a woman walking by herself. For the first of many times that day, we introduced ourselves and explained that we were women from the House of Shine on a serendipitous trip to find "Shine." We asked Doris to take our picture and to help set the course for the next leg of our trip.
"North, south, east, or west?" I asked.
She looked scared and a little taken aback, but willingly - and with a small grin - obliged.
"If I was you, I would want to go..."
Tune in tomorrow to hear about the next leg of Serentripity 2011.