When my best friend was going through a divorce I bought him two books, one of which was more of a booklet, titled The Serenity Prayer. He later told me how much it had helped him navigate a very difficult time in his life. Now I must add that Chris is not a religious person, but he really appreciated the powerful message. Here is the serenity prayer, “Lord, please give 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.”
I believe it’s a message for our times, as so many people feel powerless, hopeless, and helpless. It’s primarily a message to ‘mind your own business’ because it’s the only thing you can. Sadly, we are spending so much precious time minding everyone else’s business and not enough of our own. The reason we are so poor at minding our own business is our education, or lack thereof. Our formal schooling system, since inception 200 years ago, has predisposed us towards an outward focus on things and others, without any attention given to understanding ourselves – our being. No wonder we are so unstable, dependent, and enslaved.
Fortunately, these characteristics are not a true reflection of who we really are – our nature. Deep down, we all know there is more to us than is being acknowledged or experienced; we just don’t know how to bring it all out. Which is why we need a re-education, away from the irrelevant facts and figures of our formal education, into the deeper realm of our wild natures via a more informal and experiential education.
The serenity prayer is an invocation to rediscover ourselves as we really are, unlocking the potential of a million overcoming generations. Relating to your inner being when compared to everything you have ever learnt in life, is like swimming in the Indian Ocean versus your school swimming pool. It might appear vast and scary, but once you master the currents of your own human nature; serenity, courage, and wisdom will be your reward.