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.
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
These are two versions of the serenity prayer (the first paragraph only) are some interesting differences.
The first (top) one. It flows off my tounge much smoother. The second comes out choppy and it distracts me. To me the serenity prayer is a mental organizer: what am I trying to play god over? Where is my responsibility/liability? And a reminder, to incorporate god into my life.
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In the end, everything will be alright. If it is not alright, it is not the end... Paulo coelho (also marigold hotel)
I had never heard or seen the second one. Only the top ones, and prefer it for the same reasons Neophyte gave. There have been times when I was chanting the top serenity prayer over and over all the way through trying to calm my urge to drink or to get past other stresses. There have been other times where I actually said the serenity prayer (still the top one) much much slower, thinking about each word in it and fully meaning each word I said... does that make sense?
I think the 2nd one is certainly more eloquent, but I personally like the 1st one ... it's what I grew up with in the program ... and I've said it a million times ... it works for me and that's really all I care about ...
Although, there's another one that I've started saying recently that I also like ...
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
God, Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference. Amen
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Pappy, that reminds me of the simpsons episode in the nursing home "dear god don't let my soup be cold today or too hot. Please don't interrupt my day with family phone calls, how I do wish they'd call" lol
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In the end, everything will be alright. If it is not alright, it is not the end... Paulo coelho (also marigold hotel)
I think the 2nd one is certainly more eloquent, but I personally like the 1st one ... it's what I grew up with in the program ... and I've said it a million times ... it works for me and that's really all I care about ...
Although, there's another one that I've started saying recently that I also like ...
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
God, Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference. Amen
I agree with Pappy. I like the 2nd one better as well. The senility prayer is quite clever, though, I have to admit, except for the word senility itself. I'm not that old yet.
You're almost right Mr. David, ... ... ... It won't be long now ... and I'll indeed need one to do just that ...LOL
??? ... Do they make those walkers 'extra wide' ??? ... in case I need to turn around and sit on the little pad thingy for a rest ??? ... (cause, you know, it ain't just my belly that's growing ...)
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Saturday 28th of July 2012 01:39:12 PM
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
The 2nd one is the original. Writiten by Reinhold Niebuhr, an American theologin back in the 1930's.
Niebur appreciated the adaptation that came to AA serendipitously in 1941 and immediately adopted by AA. After all, it diffused the awareness of his prayer more than any other force.
But the original version was his favorite and truer to the message he had that inspired the prayer.
I like the original, longer version. Primarily because the voice of the prayer is different. It is a group prayer rather than an individual one. And it prays not for serenity but for grace to accept. It's a big difference. Also, the original version makes it much clearer that there are certain things "that should be changed." The AA-popularized version doesn't do that as forcefully.
There is a pretty interesting book, titled "The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics In Times of Peace and War," by Elisabeth Sifton. She is Niebuhr's daughter. And she favors the version her father preferred. The book is quite a history of the prayer, the times in which it was written and what it was for. A fairly more complex milieu than I would have guessed. Had I ever thought of it--I found about it by accident, from a couple of other AAers.
Of course, I've used the shorter AA version thousands of times. It's helped me tremendously and often. For me, the longer version is more powerful. It is strategic, rather than tactical. (Hey, I just realized that part of it . . .)
-- Edited by Tanin on Saturday 28th of July 2012 01:45:30 PM
The senility prayer is quite clever, though, I have to admit, except for the word senility itself. I'm not that old yet.
Not In YOUR mind, your not ... ... ... LOL ... things aren't always as they seem ... go take a nap David ... it'll be alright ... Okay, where'd you put your 'walker'???
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
The senility prayer is quite clever, though, I have to admit, except for the word senility itself. I'm not that old yet.
Not In YOUR mind, your not ... ... ... LOL ... things aren't always as they seem ... go take a nap David ... it'll be alright ... Okay, where'd you put your 'walker'???
I don't know Pappy, maybe it's holding your ice cream belly up (LOL), who knows.
You're almost right Mr. David, ... ... ... It won't be long now ... and I'll indeed need one to do just that ...LOL
??? ... Do they make those walkers 'extra wide' ??? ... in case I need to turn around and sit on the little pad thingy for a rest ??? ... (cause, you know, it ain't just my belly that's growing ...)
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Saturday 28th of July 2012 01:39:12 PM
Yeah, you and me both. I find the dog to be a good remedy for my oversized belly. He hides my belly better than anyone. Maybe I should buy one of those ****? Then again, maybe not. I just leave it at that.
You're almost right Mr. David, ... ... ... It won't be long now ... and I'll indeed need one to do just that ...LOL
??? ... Do they make those walkers 'extra wide' ??? ... in case I need to turn around and sit on the little pad thingy for a rest ??? ... (cause, you know, it ain't just my belly that's growing ...)
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Saturday 28th of July 2012 01:39:12 PM
Yeah, you and me both. I find the dog to be a good remedy for my oversized belly. He hides my belly better than anyone. Maybe I should buy one of those ****? Then again, maybe not. I just leave it at that.
Okay, you just hit my 'hot' button ... ... I TOO use the dog to hide my belly ... you must be my long lost TWIN ... LOL
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Sunday 29th of July 2012 09:15:37 AM
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
LMAO, ... ... ... Oh Tanin, you haven't seen me and David trade insults over the amount of ice cream the two of us eat ...
Yes, NO doubt I've had way too many of those shown above ... Funny thing is, I don't usually buy those like that one above, BUT since my grand-kids were coming to visit, I just got a box of 'em at the store ... ... ... uh ... ... ... Day 1 ... they ate 2, ... ... ... uh ... ... I ate 4 ... i'm so ashamed ... (of course they weren't as big as the one shown above ...) ... The kids have gone up to see their Dad right now and will be back here Sunday, so I gotta go get more ... ... ... yipee, I'll get a couple of boxes this time ... (oh , for tonite, ? I'm all by myself and I discovered the little woman had some 'ice cream sandwiches' hidden in the back of the freezer ... ... ... well ... ... ... let's just say I didn't want to see them spoil ... they were good ...
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
