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.
God help me to live one day at a time, and enjoy each moment as it comes, to accept hardship as the pathway to peace, and to take this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
God assure me that you will make all things right, according to your will, that I will be content in this life, and supremely happy with You in the next.
-adapted from Reinhold Niebuhr
A few notes from my journal, I haven't read these thoughts from my initial recovery in over two years:
- "Expectations interfere with my serenity. Things sometimes happen in their own time and cannot be rushed or forced. Patience in regards to expectations is a good thing."
-"I should act directly where possible, and not waste effort worrying or trying to control things I cannot control, I can just act to reduce or eliminate their impact."
-"Don't wish for everything to be easier, work to make my self better."
-"Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. I make my own decisions and I am responsible for those decisions and where they lead me".
-"Sometimes things happen to you that are not happening TO you, they are just happening. Don't take eveything so personal."
-"Be a little kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving, and my life will get better. Teach this to my children."
-"Do things for the way they make me feel about myself."
-"The first drink is the one that I must avoid at all costs."
-"Remember to count my blessings. My blessings are those things that I have been given that I was not directly responsible for. They are abundant."
-"Don't squander my blessings."
-"I will never drink again. Remember that alcohol is neither cunning or powerful, it is an inanimate toxic poisonous liquid that sits on a shelf in its bottle until consumed. There is no necessity to consume it for any reason. It has no power to make me consume it."