Serenity Prayer
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.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship
as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as God did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
Trusting that God will make all things right
if I surrender to God’s Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with God
Forever and ever in the next.
By Reinhold Neibuhr, 1940s
*I changed the original masculine “He, Him, His” to “God, God’s” to reflect my own view of God or Spirit. Take what you like and leave the rest. =)
“Original Poetry” - watercolor and ink by Susan Porter (Prints available here.)
I have attended Al-Anon meetings for 28 years and I still use the first part of this prayer to help me keep a balanced attitude. Can I also use this simple prayer to help me cope with the Collapse of Civilization? Is it even possible to have “serenity” in these changing times?
I can find serenity and courage one day at a time using this helpful tool. I can use the three sections of this prayer as healthier lenses through which to view my responses to the world’s predicament. It pulls my mind out of imagining a fearful future into the present moment where I can actually do something.
Other people and their choices. Not everyone chooses to see collapse. Trying to convince them is a waste of my time and energy.
What has happened in the past. Civilization has been on a collapse trajectory for 10,000 years or more. Unwise choices have been made and consequences will happen.
The laws of nature. Our biosphere has evolved (or was created) to operate in a particular way. Now it is out of balance and I don’t have the ability to fix it.
My emotions. I am a human being. I’m going to have a wide variety of emotional responses as things unravel. Denying or suppressing those emotions only hurts me more.
I can accept reality. I don’t have to like it, but I can have more peace and make better choices if I can accept the situation as it is.
I can adjust my attitude. I get to decide how I act toward others. Today I strive to love others where they are in their collapse journey.
I can be grateful for what I still have. Self-pity disappears when I just look around and appreciate where I live and what I have.
I can decide how I want to live. I get to choose what is right for me. Others get to do the same.
I can ask for help. When I become overwhelmed by swirling emotions and have trouble deciding what to do next, I can find comfort in collapse support groups like Collapse Club and Collapse Awareness Alliance.
I can take action. I can stop doom-scrolling if it makes me feel worse. I can make choices to take better care of my mind, body and spirit. I can become involved in my local community to help others. (and many others – see below)
Collapse support groups can help me find the wisdom to know what I can’t change and what I still can change. I find people there to talk to who are just like me. They listen and understand how I feel. They share what they have done that helps them cope. I find resources there I didn’t know about before.
When I let go of the struggle of trying to change things I can’t change, I find new energy to apply toward living my life as fully as I can.
Here are the collapse support meetings I have been attending, if you are interested in more information:
Zoom Meetings
Wednesdays – 5:30PM PST / 8:30PM EST / 1:30AM UTC (AUSTRALIA MID DAY)
Thursdays - 11AM PST / 2PM EST / 7PM UTC
Saturdays – 11AM PST / 2PM EST / 7PM UTC
Collapse Acceptance Alliance - Zoom discussions
Thursdays @ 5pm PST / 8pm EST / 12am (Friday) UTC - Email ‘why you feel the group may be a good fit for you’ to:
CollapseAcceptanceAlliance@gmail.com
From Michael Dowd (Postdoom.com) “Living Fully in the Age of Decline”
It’s not too late to change anything we can that promotes
Ecological integrity
Social Coherence
Personal wholeness
It’s not too late to
To reduce suffering adapt to LESS (less Energy, less Stuff, less Stimulation – plus less Suffering!)
To resist further destruction and evil
To assist trees in migration north
To support Indigenous resistance
To be a blessing to friends, family community
To engage in regenerative love-in-action
From Jordan Perry
Be a good member of the community of life – work daily with something that is not human.
Enjoy the daily gift of life on Earth among the community of life
Prepare for refugees, or prepare to be a refugee
Live with Joy no matter what
Read Jordan’s article - What to do is Easy
From Karen Perry
Let go or be dragged
Grab a buddy who won’t pull you down
Abandon hopium
Talk about collapse
Read Karen’s article – Tenets of GRAC/E
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.