During a recent FB Live I mentioned The Serenity Prayer and the history of it. It is commonly quoted as: "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."
However, the original version of the prayer which was created by Niebuhr sometime between 1923-33 actually asked for courage first, and specifically for changing those things that must be changed, not simply the things that can be changed.
The original prayer reads: "Father, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other."
This is a very different prayer. It is a prayer for courage to change those things whose time has come that must now be altered as they no longer serve the greater good. It is a prayer to find forgiveness for those things that cannot be helped for they have already happened. And it is a prayer to find the inner sight to be able to see what needs to be forgiven and what needs to be changed.
In other words, it is a call to action. Not a reason to pacify our self with serenity that everything is ok and we are fine as we are.
We are living in a time of immense change. There is much now calling out to be altered. Systems that need to be changed. Belief patterns that need to be altered. Mind sets that create inequalities that must now finally be altered. And the need for us to learn how to work together to create these changes, not just for the few but for the greater good of all.
As always, these changes begin with the self and our finding the courage to make the inner changes that will create the outer changes.
What are the inner things that must be altered for you?
Take this question into your heart and allow your heart to respond. Then write a list of all those things within you whose time has come that must now be altered.
And what are the inner things that cannot be helped?
Take this question into your heart and allow your heart to respond. Then write a list of all those things within you whose time has come that now need to be forgiven and healed.
Then for each thing on your lists, go into your heart and ask to be shown what's one action or step you can take to either alter or forgive the item on your list.
Beside each item write a time and day when you will take that action, and take that first step. You never know where it might lead you, and the ripple effect that might have in our world.
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