Prayer of Serenity

Although the Prayer of Serenity is often associated with 12-Step Programs for addictions, it has practical applications for everyone.  These lines are familiar to most of us.

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.

That last line is the kicker. I know that I often think that I should be able to change things that annoy me. Upon deeper reflection, I realize that I what I lack is the wisdom to know the difference. Some things are not mine to change.

Then I came across a version of the prayer that applies directly to me.

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,

Courage to change the one I can change,

And the wisdom to know that it’s me.

Yes. The only person I have control over is me and that means that I, alone, am responsible for my responses and reactions to others. That is all that I can change.

I’m working on it.

Tags: , ,

4 Responses to “Prayer of Serenity”

  1. Fay Ulanoff says:

    This is a mantra for a good person

  2. I find the Serenity Prayer to be my saving grace. I will have to think of the new version now.

  3. The line you describe "the kicker" has indeed helped me many, many time. There are many times the ONLY thing we can change is our own attitude. Thanks for a good reminder and a new twist.

  4. helen says:

    Truth be told...
    and thoughtful message to pass on.

Leave a Reply