Wednesday, May 18, 2005
On a More Positive Note
Do you remember the Serenity Prayer? We have all read it so many times that we skim over it now, thinking to ourselves, "yeah, yeah. I've read it all before", and we simply don't think about the words.
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference."
But, them're some powerful words, pardner. They smacked me square in the face today as I was writing an e-mail to my best friend in all the world, my cousin Suzii. I had forgotten those words, too. If I had simply thought of them once during all of this trial period we've been going through, then maybe some of the garbage wouldn't have happened and we wouldn't be quite as down-in-the-dumps. Let me explain on a piece by piece basis...
"God, grant me..." I forget to ask God for help. Simply put. I can pray my daily prayers every day, putting in a bit for this and that, but I forget to ask God to "grant" us anything. I have been lately accusing God of things, and being angry with him, but, now that I think of it, I have no right to be angry for something he hasn't granted if I haven't asked.
"...the serenity..." Serenity. Tranquility, calmness, quietness, peacefulness, stillness, composure, poise, contentment, repose, mellowness...need I say more???
"...to accept the things I cannot change..." There are just some things in life that are out of my control. They aren't my fault, and they aren't my responsibility. They just are. I cannot fix everything. I cannot change the injustices in the world, and I cannot make money appear out of nowhere.
"...the courage..." bravery, guts, nerve, audacity, daring, valor. The antonym is "cowardice". I certainly don't want to be called a coward.
"...to change the things I can..." For those things that are IN my control, like just going to work every day and doing my job, or specifically in my case, keeping my mouth shut about Karim's job, I CAN do those things. This should be my goal list. These are within my physical capability to do. Nothing more.
"...and the wisdom..." (ooh, ow, ooh) understanding, knowledge, insight, perception, intelligence, good judgment. And, of course, the antonym for this is "foolishness".
"...to know the difference." Have I really been getting it all confused all this time? The things that I can do have been neglected in an effort (which means I've been actively working at it,)to worry about what is out of my control. So, now the focus must change, and I need to keep myself from fretting about the situation at hand, and just go with the flow until it's time to move on.
What a wonderful prayer this is! I will never look at it from a shallow standpoint again, because I know now that it was written for me and people like me who DO get it all confused. Isn't God wonderful?
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference."
But, them're some powerful words, pardner. They smacked me square in the face today as I was writing an e-mail to my best friend in all the world, my cousin Suzii. I had forgotten those words, too. If I had simply thought of them once during all of this trial period we've been going through, then maybe some of the garbage wouldn't have happened and we wouldn't be quite as down-in-the-dumps. Let me explain on a piece by piece basis...
"God, grant me..." I forget to ask God for help. Simply put. I can pray my daily prayers every day, putting in a bit for this and that, but I forget to ask God to "grant" us anything. I have been lately accusing God of things, and being angry with him, but, now that I think of it, I have no right to be angry for something he hasn't granted if I haven't asked.
"...the serenity..." Serenity. Tranquility, calmness, quietness, peacefulness, stillness, composure, poise, contentment, repose, mellowness...need I say more???
"...to accept the things I cannot change..." There are just some things in life that are out of my control. They aren't my fault, and they aren't my responsibility. They just are. I cannot fix everything. I cannot change the injustices in the world, and I cannot make money appear out of nowhere.
"...the courage..." bravery, guts, nerve, audacity, daring, valor. The antonym is "cowardice". I certainly don't want to be called a coward.
"...to change the things I can..." For those things that are IN my control, like just going to work every day and doing my job, or specifically in my case, keeping my mouth shut about Karim's job, I CAN do those things. This should be my goal list. These are within my physical capability to do. Nothing more.
"...and the wisdom..." (ooh, ow, ooh) understanding, knowledge, insight, perception, intelligence, good judgment. And, of course, the antonym for this is "foolishness".
"...to know the difference." Have I really been getting it all confused all this time? The things that I can do have been neglected in an effort (which means I've been actively working at it,)to worry about what is out of my control. So, now the focus must change, and I need to keep myself from fretting about the situation at hand, and just go with the flow until it's time to move on.
What a wonderful prayer this is! I will never look at it from a shallow standpoint again, because I know now that it was written for me and people like me who DO get it all confused. Isn't God wonderful?
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Gosh Denise,
You put that so well! I really do hope that God will grant you all these things. You are such a special person :)
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You put that so well! I really do hope that God will grant you all these things. You are such a special person :)
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: 1:21 PM
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