Treatment for Serenity
by Marilyn O’Leary, RScP
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.
In these times when the news is disquieting to many, when fearmongering is used and sold as politics and entertainment, it is helpful to remember these words of Reinhold Niebuhr. As those of us who use the science of mind, we know that we can change our lives by changing our thinking. We have control of our minds. This means we can control what comes into them. It means we can control our go-to thoughts. And it means when we are afraid, we can notice our thoughts and change them to affirmations. As my friend’s mother used to say, we can change the channel. As we change ourselves, we change the world. Here is a prayer for those times.
I look up and remember that all is God. And I remember that God is everywhere. God is in spaces and silences. God is in sunlight and beauty and rain. If we put our hand out, God is there. If we go inside, God is there. God is Beauty, Power, Love, Joy, Creativity, Abundance, and Peace. Yes, Peace. God is in the beauty of a rainbow, the power of a thunderstorm, the love of a parent, the joy of laughter, the creativity of a poem, the abundance of the sands of the desert. God is in the peace of the still, small voice within me.
I am one with God. I am beautiful, powerful, loving, joyful, creative, abundant, and peaceful. In fact, I am beauty, I am power, I am love, I am joy, I am creativity, I am abundance, I am peace. Whatever I feel that I need, I am and I have. I look inside, I look in my life, and it is there!
When I see things in my world that need to change, then I act from love and joy, from abundance and beauty, from power and creativity, from peace to do what is within my ability, whatever that may be, without judgment. I know that I am given the energy, strength, and discernment to do this.
I give thanks for all I need, for the courage to know what I can and need to do, for the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, for the wisdom to know the difference.
I release my prayer, I let it go, and I know that I am divinely guided.
And so it is.
Amen.