Putting the Serenity Prayer into Action!

The Serenity Prayer is often used in meeting rooms of various mutual aid societies. It can help remind us of what is ours to do and NOT to do:

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 hardship 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

So often we spend our lives spitting into the wind, trying to change things that we do not have the power, responsibility, or even wisdom to alter. It takes wisdom to figure out what is ours to do!

Many of us are burdened by our attachment to the past; others are so future focused they trip over today. But today is what we are given, with moments on most days that we can enjoy. Focused on the present, in order to be awake and alert, we grapple with the reality that days do come with hardships. Hardships are not avoidable. They offer a pathway to peace.

Acceptance and trust. Reasonable joy. Amen

Intentions

...I believe in intention and I believe in work. I believe in waking up in the middle of the night and packing our bags and leaving our worst selves for our better ones.

Leslie Jamison, “The Empathy Exams”

The first nine steps gave us a structure for cleaning up the messes in our past. Step Ten gives us the opportunity to stay clear-eyed about our present day situation. In some ways, it is preventative medicine for living a reasonably happy and peaceful life. No matter how many steps we take, distress is not eliminated from our lives because life is inherently horrible and distressing at times. It does decrease our chances of more self-sabotage and the self-inflicted wounds we endure if we are not attending to and taking responsibility for our lives.

What do you need in order to live a more intentional life? I use a planner to help me stay intentional. It’s geeky but effective. I have a habit tracker I use to help me stay accountable. Each morning I do not have to get up and think, “What are my intentions today?” because I set my intentions for the month. I do look at my habit tracker and note the behaviors I chose to track that I chose to support my intentions for the month. I monitor, tweak, modify, reduce or expand my list as I learn more about myself and God. This is one way to work out intentions. What do you do?

Meditation Moment

In a time of drastic change one can be too preoccupied with what is ending or too obsessed with what seems to be beginning. In either case one loses touch with the present and with its obscure but dynamic possibilities. What really matters is openness, readiness, attention, and courage to face risk.

Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

What is your current preoccupation?

What is your current obsession?

Ask God to show you what is real and true and a present moment reality, and give thanks for the obscure but dynamic possibilities for your future.