'Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.'
LAO TZU
How do we grow and improve? With work and with acceptance. Beyond the platitudes about learning from our mistakes and being grateful for the challenges which come our way, is the deeper truth that the answers are within. And how we come to unlock those answers can be the personal growth work of a lifetime.
The Serenity Prayer, used by 12 Step Program groups, asks for the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. So much of our suffering comes from the desire to have something we cannot have or attachment to something that has been lost. Yet these desires are part of our human existence and if we didn’t have them, we might disappear in a puff of enlightenment! Learning to temper our desires, to live within our means and walk lightly on the earth is the path to a better way of living which shows respect for other beings and our planet.
As we attempt to slow down in this summer holiday month, let us reflect on the ways our busyness can provide an unnecessary distraction from our true work in this world. Accepting what we can’t change, let’s put some practical steps in place to make things better in the future.
Comments