The State of Being Calm

"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." ~ Reinhold Niebuhr

How many times have you seen this shortened version of the Serenity Prayer and just breezed right over it?  Many, many times for me.  I see it often in the Quote of the Day blogs and postings I read.  And, to be honest, I like it.  Recently I took a little extra time to think about it though.  I like to completely understand the use of words in certain quotes and this was one of them.  Serenity: the state of being calm, peaceful and untroubled.  This is a plea for more than serenity and courage.  It is really a plea for wisdom.

Starting at the beginning, there is a great deal of peace in the idea of the first line.  All too often I think we struggle with this concept.  It can be difficult to sit back and admit we cannot change something.  Effort becomes meaningless.  To think that if we try our damnedest to change a situation and it still might not change can leave us feeling less than serene.

I much prefer the second line.  Action.  Courage.  Grant me the courage to challenge the status quo and shake things up.  Grant me the courage to put the brakes on this life and start fresh.  I prefer action over passivity and accepting things "as is."

What about that third line?  Isn't that really the hardest part of the entire equation?  It seems those of us who prefer action may have the hardest time deciding at the fork in the road.  Our impulse is to seek action and make the change. Whereas, those who prefer to accept what comes their way may disproportionately choose to just accept life.

"Change is constant in life and will manifest itself in one of two ways: your environment will change forcing you to adapt, or you will change forcing your environment to adapt. Whichever the case, seek the opportunity to grow." ~ Jason Huntsinger

Where is that balance?  How do you know when you reach that point?  I struggle to find it because I'd much rather prefer to direct change than adapt to something beyond my control.  It is tough to concede that I can't control an aspect of my life.  But, alas *heavy sigh* it's true.  Understanding this about myself, and life in general, is perhaps the first step in attaining this wisdom which will allow me to find peace.  The fact of the matter is that change is a given.  Everything changes.  Situations change.  People change...sometimes overnight.  We are all on this journey to find the balance and, ultimately, our own state of being calm.