+1 #133: The Serenity Prayer

In our last +1 we talked about Byron Katie’s idea that you can be in one of three businesses: someone else’s business, God’s business or YOUR business.

Quick recap: We want to stay out of other people’s business and we want to stay out of God’s business as we remain exclusively (!) in our business—remembering that, ultimately, the ONLY things we have control over are our own thoughts and behaviors.

Of course, all great wisdom traditions remind us of the same truth.

And, the Serenity Prayer may capture it most succinctly:

“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’s REALLY good.

Today’s +1 mission?

Let’s commit the Serenity Prayer to memory.

“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.”

Learning 101-style, pause for a moment and quiz yourself—see if you can recall those lines now.

…

If you can’t, try chunking it down 3:59.4-style and memorize the first line. Then the second. Then the third. Then put it all together.

“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.”

And, most importantly, play it in your mind and embody its wisdom in those moments when you find yourself losing your serenity or needing a little more courage and/or a bit more wisdom. 😃