I've experienced a few, let's say,
"flashbacks" recently. I am apart of a Woman's 'Love Yourself' group
regarding personal self-development. Today's daily post made me think back to
an amazing experience I had at an NA meeting. No, I didn't go as a narcotic
addict; I went as a school assignment, and so thankful that I did.
They talked about the mantra of "Just
For Today" as I learned they do at every meeting, and how it is tied to
the Serenity Prayer. I left there so inspired and as a better person. Naturally
for me, the experience weighed heavily on my mind for several days. I wrote a
blog that didn’t site much more than the full Just For Today mantra. I re-read
the Serenity Prayer 50 times over. I tried to remain in that inspiration for as
long as possible.
It wasn’t until doing some research that I
realized what most probably never have. There is a whole lot more to that
Serenity Prayer than most can readily recite.
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.
A good majority of the world has probably heard the
part above a time or 2, at least. Some may even recite it daily. It is heavily
associated with Alcoholics Anonymous and the related groups, and used as part
of their 12-step model based on taking one day at a time, “Just For Today”.
Regardless of anyone’s belief, or disbelief, in
“God”, it’s a beautiful prayer. And as I mentioned, there is more; there are
several important lines more, and without them you really do not get the full
powerful message it was written to portray, by Reinhold Niebuhr.
The text of the entire prayer is as follows:
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.
Living
one day at a time;
Enjoying
one moment at a time;
Accepting
hardships 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.
Reading the whole piece together, fully taking
in each line one at a time, makes for a much more impactful message.
I broke down the prayer line by line in a
previous blog entry 3 years back (dang, where does the time go?). The prayer
remains the same, and so does its powerful message. So, why reinvent the wheel?
Take a look at my breakdown here: http://eatingtolivenotthealternative.blogspot.com/2011/11/serenity-prayerpart-two-dedicated-to-12.html
