Serenity Prayer

"God grant 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."

The Serenity Prayer.

Who hasn't heard of The Serenity Prayer, right?

But did you know that this commonly quoted line is only a portion of the complete prayer? The prayer in its entirety is quite beautiful, and a life lived by this philosophy would surely be a good life....

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.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

-Reinhold Niebuhr