Serenity Prayer

It has been way too long since I've taken the time to tap out my thoughts on keyboard. I wish I meant that musically ... that's a different train of thought for another time ...

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 rub of this prayer is the pairing of situations with the skill/ability that is requested.

Serenity to accept ...
A la Alanis' "jagged little pill", it is supremely difficult to accept something as it is when you want for it to be something else. It is hard to swallow. Yet the request isn't for a sugar coating; for acceptance, or the ability TO accept. Whatever the unchangeable is, the request is for serenity - peace, calm, confidence. It's easy to drown when you are thrashing about in the ocean, but if you are calm and relax your body, you float (some of us better than others, but you get my drift).

Courage to change ...
Again, the request made is NOT "Change it for me". How much time is spent selfishly praying exactly that? Grant me courage! Give me strength! Why courage/strength? The petitioner has some idea what is changeable, or maybe more apt would be to say correctable, hence the request at all. the changeable is a point of growth, even a crossroads. How much easier is it to go with the current than to plant your feet and push back against it.

Wisdom to discern ...
How hard could it be to tell them apart - wanting what can't be acquired/accomplished vs. not wanting to correct something that is necessary? How often are they two sides of the same coin? That is definitely a hard pill to swallow.