SERENITY PRAYER

GOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen

-Reinhold Neibuhr-1926

I see this prayer EVERYWHERE; on keychains, posters, greeting cards, etc. But this is the first time I’ve ever really READ it.

You know, in spite of the material wealth we think we deserve, our endless desire to earn an income without having to work so hard for it and our incessant hope to have everything and everyone we want, when we want it and the way we want it, I think for the most part, all of us really and truly seek just one thing: some peace in our lives.

We may not so much want the mansion and fancy cars as much as we want the confidence and pride that come along with it. I don’t think we want to be unemployed loafers living solely on others’ charity, but I know we all wish we could do something we love to do and happen to get paid for it, instead of doing something we loathe BECAUSE we HAVE to. And as far as getting who and what we want, I think sometimes we can get weary of having to work so hard to attain, and then maintain our human need for love and affection; sometimes putting in more than we receive.

It’s hard and there are times when you want to just scream at how unfair life can be. But it’s these times, when you’ve spent all your energy complaining that you just kind of let go because that’s all you can do. It’s then that we try to accept our world as it is, unfair and all. When we finally reach this acceptance, that’s when we’ll feel it: peace and serenity of life.