Serenity-page 255
Recovery Blessing
Below is a reading from my book THE OTHER ROAD AHEAD followed by a comment inspired by the selection.👇
The quality of being serene or tranquil at one time was reserved for royalty who were called “your serene highness” or similar terms. The belief was that the kings and queens were in a state of peace because of their close proximity to God.
In the pre-Revolutionary American colonies many notions carried over from England were being challenged not just taxation. The philosopher Johnathan Edwards was one of these people who enlarged the idea of Grace from an exclusive belief to one that was spread out over the world. We could all experience the divine tranquility previously reserved for the elites and their followers.
This was a revolutionary idea that connected to other radical thinking which lead to the overthrow of King George III and the oppressive English system. People lost their lives fighting for social and spiritual freedom in the American War of Independence ⚡(1775-1783) and a certain unique legacy has been handed down.
Yet the notion of tranquility for the individual was almost exclusivity the property of churches and scholars who promoted the practice through numerous dogmas. Then in the 1930’s a more populist secular movement came to America that included serenity into a therapeutic method.
The Alcoholics Anonymous idea employed methods from the Swiss doctor Carl Jung’s studies of spiritual archetypes with populist devotional movements into an international organization which treats alcoholism and has been applied to many other personal and social disorders.
AA adopted the Serenity Prayer1 often attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr (d.1971)as the essence of their practice and due to their use of it the idea of “serenity” has spread. These days the concept of serenity has gone from the exclusive property of royalty to general usage as the ideal for tranquility.
The version of the Serenity Prayer as popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous
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.
The full text of the Serenity Prayer generally attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr
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 hardships 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 things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen
👉 View the entire Road Ahead Website
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING WHERE THEY CAN GET “THE ROAD AHEAD” MERCH. Well it’s finally here. You can find all your favorite designs custom made into product you want and the book. Just click below 👇
COOL ROAD AHEAD MERCH!
Of course there is a controversary about the authorship of this popular prayer with various “scholars” claiming to have the truth arguing about who actually wrote it with the usual claims of fakes, debunking, and cancelling each other in the pathetic feast of fatuous allegations. The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous have not officially engaged in the historical claims dispute but one allied source has offered this brief guide.
Great piece D S Reif. I had no idea there was a full text for the Serenity Prayer.