We are constantly trying to manipulate things around us so that we can avoid discomfort, especially when actively using. Let’s admit it: people struggling with addiction are master manipulators. Oftentimes in our lives, we experience things out of our control, and yet for some reason we still obsess about these things, trying to control their outcome. God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change Understanding each part of the Serenity Prayer Let’s break it down further and look at what each section means. The serenity prayer helpfully reminds us that life presents challenges, some of which will be in your control, and some of which will be out of your control. Whenever you feel like your cage is being rattled “God” can be Good Orderly Direction, Life, or the Universe. Hope that walking through this difficult thing out of your control now may be good for you in the long-term. ![]() You can also use whatever gives you hope. In the prayer it mentions “God” but if that isn’t your cup of tea you can just as easily omit the God reference when using the Serenity Prayer. In order to find true help and recovery though, it takes the bravest act of all, which isn’t handling it on your own, but instead recognizing when it’s time to courageously ask for help. Often in recovery, we try to control how much we consume, gamble, use or drink, thinking that we just need to figure out the perfect combination so that we don’t end up losing it all, again. Sometimes tapping into something larger like a higher power or a bigger picture of life and recovery, rather than what’s immediately before us, can help you stay calm when the going gets tough instead of reacting. What if you are new in recovery and don’t know your true self? That’s okay! It takes time. Achieving this state of mind takes practice, but it means you will be able to navigate emotional turmoil and things out of your control while staying rooted to your truths. It can be a quiet moment in the shower, that peace that comes over you after being honest, or even staying calm when someone cuts you off. What the heck is serenity, anyway?Īccording to the dictionary, serenity is the state of being serene, calm, peaceful, and untroubled. That is how this simple yet powerful prayer has come to be used today by countless people, not just those in recovery, but those all over the world seeking serenity. Promptly after that, 500 copies were printed and distributed to meetings and individuals all over the country. Someone suggested that the prayer be printed on a wallet-sized card to be included in every piece of outgoing mail. “Everyone in AA’s burgeoning office on Manhattan’s Vesey Street was struck by the power and wisdom contained in the prayer’s thoughts. Comes of Age, which was published in 2014. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.īill W., one of the founders of AA, wrote about the Serenity Prayer’s popularity in the book A.A. This was truly the birth of the shortened and widespread version that is popular today: ![]() A member of AA saw a version of the prayer cited without attribution in a New York obituary in 1942 and shared it with others in the growing recovery movement. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time.Īround the same time, this simple prayer was spreading like wildfire and becoming a staple for those in recovery at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings across the nation. God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,Ĭourage to change the things which should be changed,Īnd the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. She said the original prayer is as follows: ![]() ![]() In it, she said the prayer was shared by her father in 1943 in an ordinary Sunday service at a small church in Massachusetts. His daughter Elisabeth Sifton wrote a book about the prayer in 2003 called The Wisdom to Know the Difference: When to Make A Change–and When to Let Go. Reinhold Niebuhr, a prominent Protestant theologian, claimed to have written the prayer, dating its creation to the early 1940s. What is the Serenity Prayer and where did it come from?
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