10/07/2026
What if Something or Someone is Unfixable – Part 4. As I was thinking about what it means to accept something that you cannot fix or change, what immediately came to mind was The Serenity Prayer. Almost everyone has heard it and most likely prayed it at one time or another. With the aid of the Internet AI, I decided to dig deeper into its origin, which I was already familiar with from previous study. I was amazed at what I found, and even more enlightened as to what was actually meant at the time it was first prayed, noticed, and became famous. I also learned more about acceptance.
The first thing to note is that the original wording, which was most likely first recorded sometime during World War II (an extremely important context to consider) was different than the one we now pray. The original went like this:
God, give me 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.
What first struck me was that the prayer was asking God primarily for “grace” to accept, not “serenity”! Grace is unmerited divine assistance needed to do what is humanly impossible. Serenity means peace or calm. This simple change in wording makes way more sense. Of course I would love to accept things with serenity (peace). But I’m not praying for peace to accept. I’m praying for grace to accept, as calmly and peacefully as I can. Huge difference!
The second thing that was extremely powerful was praying for the courage to change the things which “should” be changed. Think of the atrocities and horrors committed and experieced during World War II. If you don’t know, look it up. There was real evil and malevolence that “should be changed,” and it would take great courage to confront and defeat it.
The last thing I want to point out is that the final part of the prayer asks for “wisdom” to be able to discern and distinguish one from the other. There was a time early in the war that the United States did not want to get involved and wanted to remain neutral. What if we had not gotten involved? There was controversy about creating an alliance with Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the communist party and leader of the Soviet Union, in order to defeat Germany (a man considered by many to have been even more maniacal and dangerous than Hi**er). Check out what Stalin did during his reign as dictator. Then, there was the decision on whether or not to drop the atomic bomb. Someone or a group of people united in their beliefs had to determine what was right and what was wrong and then decide what to do about it. The decisions that were made affected millions of lives. Hundreds of thousands of lives would have to be sacrificed, including the innocent, along with immense devestation, in order to stop the evil forces threatened to destroy the civilization and humanity we valued.
There is so much more that I want share with you in my upcoming posts. For now, just think about the prayer as it was originally worded, the context in which it was prayed, and try to apply it to your own situation and circumstances. It changes everything.
More to come. Stay tuned.
DocPsyc
