Comments on: Accept the Mystery

By: Daddo

Daddo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:48:56 +0000

For every ailment under the sun
There is a remedy, or there is none;
If there be one, try to find it;
If there be none, never mind it.
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If you know anyone in a 12-step recovery program (of one kind or another) you might also know that the practice of “acceptance” by program adherents is a fundamental aspect of those programs.
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The “Serenity Prayer” is often included (at least in part) in the written materials used by many recovery programs. This tells me that “acceptance” must be an important part of recovery and establishment of a less troubled manner of living.
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Here’s a couple of “Serenity Prayer” versions that might be of interest to you:
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1. The original prayer is as follows:
“God give us grace, to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”
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2. The most popular version reads:
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can change, And wisdom to know the difference.”
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3. The longest version has these additional lines:
“Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.”
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There are also humorous versions of the prayer now in circulation:

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the difference.
- author unknown

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
courage to change the one I can change,
and wisdom to know it’s me.

By: Gale

Gale — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:47:12 +0000

I think there is truth to both sides. Sure, sometimes we make a big mess out of things that are better left alone. But we are intelligent, curious people with active minds. We are not meant to just say “Hmm” and move on every time something confuses us.

Think of all the things we now understand because someone wasn’t willing to accept the mystery – space travel, gravity, electronics, the solar system, etc.

I haven’t seen “A Serious Man” yet, but I think their premise of accepting the mystery is probably a tidy and curious little adage that works well in the context of the movie, but not so well in real life. Ironically, if you look hard at it, it may be exactly the little bow on top that they try to avoid. It’s just masquerading as a conundrum.

By: Anne

Anne — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:56:34 +0000

Actually, I think I’m better at accepting the mystery of the present than the mystery of the future. I can usually make sense of things, or even when I can’t–I can grapple. And that feels more active than a big wide open future of ambiguity.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:18:34 +0000

“Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you” is too passive. And life is more complicated than that. Take the time I was featured in a newspaper article and portrayed as a suburban lunatic. Embarrassed and betrayed, I called the reporter, who said “Yes, I should have told you the angle had changed, I should have called you to respond to the quote refuting you, but my editor told me to make you look bad.” AHA! She had just admitted to malicious intent. I went straight to the editor in chief and the publisher, who were aghast. They ordered an internal investigation. All hell broke loose at the paper. I could easily have sued, but I didn’t. It all worked out great in the end. The newspaper now treats me, and my clients, very well. It was an opportunity for everyone to forge a better relationship.

I am so glad I didn’t listen to all the people who said “Just drop it, just move on.”

Sometimes yes, accept the mystery – but decide that on a case-by-case basis.