Serenity
I was going to write about gratitude (one can never have enough shares on that topic- LOL!) but then decided to write about “Serenity” which I feel goes hand in hand with gratitude. If I don’t have gratitude, I don’t have serenity. Unfortunately, I don’t always remember that and then get caught up in the worries and stresses of life. If I don’t take care of myself and don’t do the next right thing, my thinking gets “stinky”, and I get myself closer to that slippery slope. When I pause, breathe, and get in touch with my Higher Power and say a prayer- like the Serenity Prayer- I can feel myself starting to calm down in my head, and my thinking becomes clearer and more positive.
I also really try to meditate on those words of the Serenity Prayer and try to accept that I cannot resolve insoluble problems! Accept the things that I cannot change! Sometimes it’s not so easy to differentiate between insoluble situations and those situations that I can change.
From “Came to Believe (A.A. approved literature): “….I find that substituting the word ‘honesty’ for ‘wisdom’ often furnishes the clue to the answer I’m seeking.” I love that! This program is all about honesty. I have learned to be more honest with myself and with others. Boy oh boy – all the lying and the sneakiness that I used to do!! I had to stop lying to others and lying to myself – I learned acceptance and tolerance AND Honesty, Openness and Willingness (HOW)!
“Serenity to me, therefore, is the absence of insoluble conflict. And it is up to me first to determine whether, after an honest look at myself, I can cope with the problem, then to decide whether it is to be tackled, passed over to another day, or dismissed forever.” “Came to Believe,” p. 111
After I’ve accepted that I cannot change a situation (people too), I become more at peace with myself and the situation. It’s really comforting to know that. When I can change something, and I have taken an honest look and have prayed about it, the next thing for me to do is the very best that I can. If I know that I did the very best that I could – that I did the next right thing – then I am at peace and have serenity. Wow, it’s taken me a long time to figure this out – I am a slow learner -LOL! But it is progress, not perfection!