Yesterday I started to write my thoughts on the Serenity Prayer. What it means to me. This prayer is important to me as I do try to use it in my daily life. If you really think about it, it contains such a wonderful message, is a wonderful prayer.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change. The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Yesterday, I wrote about the first sentence. Accepting what you can not change. When we get right down to it, there is very little if anything in this world we can really change, except ourselves. The prayer is like a call to action, to bring about change with in myself one way or the other.
Internal serenity, being completely at peace with the world, is something I strive for, I pray for. I am sure it is some thing all would want. How do we achieve it? For me, stress is the worst enemy of my internal serenity. I have a bad heart and with that comes the knowing that stress can and will kill me. Guess what, it will do the same to you.It is just a matter of time or timing. This whole dying business has brought about a huge change in me. I am much more accepting than than I was in the past. Things that would have had me all fired up now about 90% if time don’t even register on my internal radar. Most things just aren’t worth the bother of paying any attention to. I have come to realize most things in our daily lives just aren’t that important. If something is important to me, I am not that complacent and I think that is how it should be.
The second sentence contains, “change the things you can”. This is where we have to take a hard, honest look at our lives. Serenity is my goal have stress begone from my life. I need to work on myself.I need to work on myself to learn why I still allow certain issues to push my buttons, so to speak. Some times the the answer will be that the circumstance or what ever it I am dealing with is just plain unacceptable and not with in my tolerance zone. What am I to do then?
this for me is the difficult part. The having the “wisdom to know the difference part”. If I have done an honest internal review and have found there are some external factors in my life that are just not acceptable, stress causing. It is time to make external changes in the world around me. We all have people, events in our lives that cause us stress. We see them there, we feel the stress. Do we have the “courage to change the things we can’? Internally and externally.
Dying mans daily journal 
Boy you’re on a roll! LOL And I love it–mostly cuz it means I get to read what you share, decide what fits for me and take a look at how/what I need to do with it.
NOT that I always like taking a look at ME. I just know that which I can change is ME. That which I cannot–is everything else.
And I mean EVERY thing else.
Now, granted, I can and do affect people. Yes, they get to make a choice too–but I do have the power to affect others. (for the good and not so good dontchaknow….) What I DO…..matters.
And it matters to me that the mark that I make in the life of another human being is a positive one. I don’t get to (or WANT to) lay claim to some ‘big get-even’. I spent a whole lotta time and energy on that mission….it’s nothing I’m real proud of and I’m clear it doesn’t speak to all that I AM and all that I was designed to be. It might temporarily gimme that sense of ‘better than….ah HA….gotcha ya little slimeball….’–but invariably I end up having that awakening to ‘you just became that which you detested’. That is not a warm fuzzy feeling. And in my life, with what I know and decided I was going to live……it shouldn’t be.
I can change ME.
I don’t have to grow weary trying to change others–frankly, I don’t have the energy TO go that direction for very long. (good clue for me–when I start feeling that weary….guess where the energy’s going!!!)
And frankly–(I’m betting you could guess this one!)it’s a FULL TIME JOB keeping me on track and on the path I’ve chosen to walk.
LOLOL
Yeahyeahyeah……I heard everything I just put out here in black and white!
Pffffffffffttttttt!!!!!! 😛
Mel, you have a very deep and profound wisdom which I thank you so much for sharing. I realize and accept the only thing I can change is ME, and that is what I am working to do. Doing my inner “self evaluation”, really looking at myself, it becomes abundantly clear I am human with the weakness and imperfections that go with it. I know there are times when I have the will power of a cabbage. I am working to improve that. Anything we do to bring about internal change requires work and is not necessarily easy. What I am talking about in the outside world is sort of like putting yourself on the slippery slope where it is easier to fall. I am trying to build myself up and want to avoid things that may knock me back.
A ridiculously extreme example as it has nothing to do with anything in my life but my illustrate my point. Picture a hard cord drug addict that shares a home with 4 or 5 other addicts. Our addict decides to get himself all cleaned up. Goes through detox and what ever else you do. He gets himself all cleaned up at some treatment centre. If he were then to return to that same living arrangement with the other addicts, I think it would just make it that much more difficult for him to stay clean. Remember this is from a guy with the will power of a cabbage.
Now, I may be just a “tad” over weight. A change I can make in my external world whild working on myself would be to avoid stopping for coffee at a place that sells bakery goods.
Oh yeah….step AWAY from the donuts and the places that sell ’em! Yup–change where ya get your coffee and the routine in there. Take a buddy with ya. Establish a harassingly fun relationship with the gal at the counter and tell her under NO circumstances is she to sell you anything BUT a good cuppa coffee.
I hear ya, sir.
Ain’t easy–but it is worth it!
Just sayin’….
And until I got strong enough to actually go into places and NOT buy the donut–I didn’t GO in those places unless I had a buddy with me who’d smack me on the back of the head and grumble the reminder. 😉
There’s something about sharing the change with another person and letting them support you that works for some of us. 🙂
I’m with you Mel, the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. I need to avoid that, that will pull me down as I grow.
Hi I am a new blogger trying to learn the ropes here. I stumbled onto your blog and must say I enjoyed reading a few of your posts. I see wisdom and insite here! Thank you
Hi Patti. Thank you for your visit and for leaving me a comment. The blogging world is a wonderful one, I am sure you will enjoy it and get much from it. Hope to hear from you again.
Bill