Most people will know of the original version of The Serenity Prayer, an ageless one for stress relief in times of tortured complexity and chaos and a reminder to surrender to God.
It was written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
If you've forgotten it, then you can read the short form of it below...
Image source Artist Michel Keck
The Full Original Copy of the Serenity Prayer is much longer.
~Author unknown.
Calvin Hobbes Style Serenity Prayer
Image source
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,
the blessings of meeting with the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the difference.
It was written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
If you've forgotten it, then you can read the short form of it below...
The Full Original Copy of the Serenity Prayer is much longer.
by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
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.
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.
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.
The inimitable Fr. James Martin S.J. has devised this new one.
A New Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I'm clearly not you, God.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I'm clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.
And while you're at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I'm not you, which means I'm not perfect.
It's better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you'll no doubt remember me saying,
I can't change anyway.
Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I'm clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they're talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.
Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I'm
not you.
Amen.
And while you're at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I'm not you, which means I'm not perfect.
It's better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you'll no doubt remember me saying,
I can't change anyway.
Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I'm clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they're talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.
Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I'm
not you.
Amen.
Other Humorous Variations on Serenity Prayer
I may update as and when I find more of them.. Feel free to add your own.
I may update as and when I find more of them.. Feel free to add your own.
This is a nice article on the history and different versions of the Serenity Prayer : some are shown below.
God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the one I can,
and the wisdom to know it's me.
the courage to change the one I can,
and the wisdom to know it's me.
~Author unknown.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the past I cannot change
the courage to change the future I can
and the wisdom to start today.
to accept the past I cannot change
the courage to change the future I can
and the wisdom to start today.
Then there is this article which begins:
"The Human Condition in a nutshell: Serenity prayer nails it, and here’s the rest....
As a prose-lover, I so admire the serenity prayer. To my ears it’s the most exquisite, precise and succinct formulation ever of a universal tough judgment call and the wisdom required to deal with it. Here the serenity prayer’s form is applied to other universal tough judgment calls. At one time or another every one of us has been strung out on the horns of these dilemmas. " You can read the rest here. Warning: It may leave the reader completely befuddled and far from serene. There's even a part two, which I'll confess I gave up on.
Image source
As a prose-lover, I so admire the serenity prayer. To my ears it’s the most exquisite, precise and succinct formulation ever of a universal tough judgment call and the wisdom required to deal with it. Here the serenity prayer’s form is applied to other universal tough judgment calls. At one time or another every one of us has been strung out on the horns of these dilemmas. " You can read the rest here. Warning: It may leave the reader completely befuddled and far from serene. There's even a part two, which I'll confess I gave up on.
Calvin Hobbes Style Serenity Prayer
I also quite like this one, which might be
a more realistic way of dealing with people
we find impossible and although not strictly
a serenity prayer, it could have a calming effect.
a serenity prayer, it could have a calming effect.
and for those of us getting older....
THE SENILITY PRAYER
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,
the blessings of meeting with the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the difference.
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