The Serenity Prayer is most commonly attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, although there is some evidence that it existed before he popularized it in the 1930's. This prayer became well known with it's adoption by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1941.
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
To apply this great wisdom...
1. The past cannot be changed, so what there is to do is to accept what has been with no regrets, no resentments, and no call for vengeance.
2. Remember that there are a million "wrong things" in the world (as well as a billion "right things"), so focus your energies on addressing with courage the few issues closest to your heart, and accept the rest of life with serenity.
3. Never waste your time or energy complaining. Either take positive action, or accept with serenity. This is especially true with regard to politics and money.
Further reading:
Serenity - make a conscious choice to live a stress-free life
Life only appears to be rushing toward us
The River of Life has no meaning - no good, no bad, no better, no worse, no love, no hate, no fear, no anger, no joy. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The Eye-of-the-Storm
I found the story of the Serenity Prayer at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_prayer to be interesting reading.
ReplyDeleteAlso check out this Web Page: http://www.thevoiceforlove.com/serenity-prayer.html which tell a different story.
ReplyDeleteLife has plenty of meaning: Be a good person so your soul will be pure enough to go to heaven.
ReplyDeleteThis is the purpose of life.