Serenity Prayer: Finding Peace in the Present Moment
Picture taken by Christina of doing yoga with my cat Lily
The Serenity Prayer is perhaps best known for its use in 12-Step programs, but the original version can be attributed to Christian theologian and ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr. Reading the prayer in its original language has helped me to understand its meaning in a fresh way.
Finding Serenity:
The prayer helps me connect to my own Inner Wisdom, so that I can discern when to courageously take action and when to practice calm surrender.
I am reminded to not only live in the present moment, but to enjoy it. This comes from adjusting my expectations. I will never be fully satisfied in my lifetime, so I can stop trying to achieve full satisfaction. I live in a world that is out of my control, so I can stop trying to control it.
Instead of fighting against reality, causing suffering, I can accept hardship as my divinely given guide to lead me into my soul's transformation.
With Jesus as my example, I can accept the world as it is and respond accordingly by:
acting in love
requiring justice
telling the truth
defending the vulnerable
working towards peace non-violently
extending forgiveness
embodying compassion
dying to ego
and being reborn to a higher consciousness.
I can fully enter into my human experience no matter how uncomfortable or painful it is, because I trust that in the end God will make all things right. There is a Greater and Higher Good working on my behalf at all times.
I can receive each day's gifts, knowing that today I have reason to be happy, if even briefly. And one day, all of creation (including me) will be restored to its original, joyful wholeness.
Getting Started:
Use this prayer whenever you are having difficulty letting go of a situation, person, or feeling.
When you feel the need to control, fix, or meddle; you are afraid, anxious, or stressed; your mind is caught in a loop or obsessive thinking.
Notice when you are holding tension in your body—clenching muscles, getting a headache, holding your breath, or feeling physically fatigued. This is a helpful indication to draw on the Serenity Prayer for support.
You may want to print out the prayer so you can reference it often (you could keep it in your wallet or car, on a mirror, etc.).
Try committing a phrase, line, stanza, or the entire prayer to memory and reciting it like a meditation, slowly in repetition.
Begin your prayer knowing that you are speaking in union with God’s Spirit, drawing on a source of strength within you.
Serenity Prayer:
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Going Forward:
Start noticing how you are choosing to live connected to your own sacred center and how this draws you into the present moment. No person or situation can take away your peace. It belongs to you, and is always available.