The Serenity Prayer

Perhaps you have heard of the Serenity Prayer that is so dear to the hearts of members of Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs? Here is the best-known form: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. This was written in the early 20th Century, by Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr, an American theologin of German descent. Bet you guessed that he was German by that name, right? lol Here is the prayer in German, which a German website claims is the original form of the prayer, which was later translated into English: Gott, gib mir die Gelassenheit, Dinge hinzunehmen, die ich nicht aendern kann, den Mut, Dinge zu aendern, die ich aendern kann, und die Weisheit, das eine vom anderen zu unterscheiden. There is some question of whether Reinhold Niebuhr actually wrote the Serenity Prayer. It appears that he did, but of course, the idea has has been expressed by others before. There is actually a Mother Goose rhyme (1695) expressing a similar sentiment: For every ailment under the sun There is a remedy, or there is none; If there be one, try to find it; If there be none, never mind it. In everyone's life there are problems and situations that are not of our choosing, and not to our liking. Sometimes there is nothing to be done, and we have to accept no for an answer. But other times we don't have to take no for an answer. We don't have to take it lying down! If we have enough guts (courage) we can sometimes make our own choices, and expand our possibilities, even if our options remain severely limited. Sometimes hard work and daring can turn a flat refusal or seeming impossibility into a definite yes, or at least a possible maybe! But if not, well, best to let it go and focus our efforts on other more important things. Best Wishes, Jen :)