What has one year of being in quarantine meant to you? What have you lost? What have you gained? What have you learned?
The birth of Coffee Break came from a place of anxiety. I realized that many people share the same worries and that I wasn’t alone in the journey. We are all trying to thrive in the middle of a pandemic. It was a blessing to have been able to carve time for something meaningful.
Coffee Break recently turned a year old, and we are still talking about life, well-being, and relationships, and I am beyond grateful.
On this post, let’s look deeper into the first half of the Prayer of Serenity:
God, give us the 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.
My favorite line, “the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other,” helps us recognize that while it is okay to ask for accountability from the people around us, we should be cautious of how we are doing so. We should be responding and not only reacting to the negative things that come our way. When we respond, we choose to look at the situation and check how we can be better after the experience. It goes beyond putting a point across and venting. It allows us to see which of the things that frustrate or hurt us are within our realm and power of control. Whenever you’re frustrated with something, pause to contemplate if the stressor is something that you can realistically change. If it isn’t, why bother to waste time and energy on something that only seeks acceptance? Pause and respond instead of choosing to react. Responding is choosing to restore serenity in our lives.
What are the things that we cannot change? We cannot change the attitude of others. We cannot change their perceptions of us. We cannot change travel restrictions. These are things that we simply need to accept.
As important as it is to accept those outside our realm of control, we also need to have the courage to call for change, especially if we can do so. Oftentimes, confronting issues in the family, in a marriage, or any kind of relationship is difficult because it also means confronting personal issues. This is why courage also takes humility because it asks us to look at ourselves objectively. “What is it that I need to be courageous about?”
If we need to rock our boats for the benefit of our well-being, then we must have the courage to do so. When we make an effort to restore serenity in our lives, we are also allowing things to fall into place with the guidance of God. When we are serene, we tend to hear His voice clearer. We also realize that each day is an opportunity for us to restore our serenity and inner peace. – WITH PAU DE VERA
Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash