Serenity prayer....al anon slogan...
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
Considered a sacred flower in the Orient and a symbol of virtue and purity in classical art, the LOTUS has come to represent transcendence and contemplation. Here it is used ot illustrate the SERENTIY PRAYER, three powerful lines of inspiration that provide the meditiative foundation for the AL ANON program
In this prayer, we first ask God for serentiy to accept the things we cannot change. This means ridding our minds of clutter confusion and conflict so that we can examine our situation with greater clarity. As we focus on ourselves and on the present moment, we begin to recongnize that which is beyond our control we pray to accept. We may not like it, we many not support it, but before we can let go of it, we must accept it. Denying reality is a futile, self-defeating exercise that squanders our valuable energy and deprives us of the freedom to make meaningful choices.
In the second line of the prayer, we ask for the courage to change the things we can. Once we have accepted our powerlessness over people, place and things, we are ready to take responsiblity for making changes in our own attitudes and behaviour. For many of us, self-will and control enabled us to avoid making changes within ourselves--we masked our fear of change by hiding behind someones else's character defects, trapped in a maze of frustrations and resentment as we tried to play GOD. In the SERENTIY PRAYER, we ask our Higher Power for th courage, confident that with divine guidance, our course of action will be meaningful and constructive.
And finally, we pray for the wisdom to know the difference. With God's help, we can identify where powerlessness ends and responsibility begins. With God's help, we can develop a senxe of proportion in order to distinguish between those things we can let go of and those that require our attention
Practicing the princilples of AL ANON program maintains our serentiy, fortifies our courage, and deepens our wisdom. As we contemplate the serene beauty of the LOTUS, let us acknowledge our ability to meet life's challenges with composure and strength.