I believe Bill Wilson would have studied the Stoics either before or after he got sober. He explored about almost every philosophy and religion know as he tried to gain and then maintain his sobriety. However he did not write the Serenity Prayer.
Some AA members read it in an obituary in the newspaper and thought it resonated with the obj…
I believe Bill Wilson would have studied the Stoics either before or after he got sober. He explored about almost every philosophy and religion know as he tried to gain and then maintain his sobriety. However he did not write the Serenity Prayer.
Some AA members read it in an obituary in the newspaper and thought it resonated with the objectives of the12 Step program and began to use it an popularize it.
It is generally attributed (in slightly different versions) to the Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
My own personal version:
God, grant me Serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The Courage to change the things I can.
And Wisdom to know where to stash the bodies when I get done changing them.
I like this, not just because it’s amusing, but because it shifts the emphasis from acceptance to change. I spent too many years at Alanon meetings listening to people using serenity and acceptance as excuses for cowardice. For example, grandparents using serenity as an excuse for doing nothing when their grandchildren were being traumatized by alcoholic parents. As someone who grew up in exactly that situation, I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming at them. I believe the real purpose of the Serenity Prayer is to remind us to stop and take a breath and admit what is real, before asking ourselves what action is required.
Ha! That is a good alteration. Note that I did not state that Bill W wrote the Serenity prayer. But I thought it was he who had implemented it into the AA world and written into the Big Book.
I stand corrected! It was a (New York) group decision in 1940 to promote the prayer for AA use but it did not appear in the first 164 pages of the Big Book which is the foundation, and unchanged part of all subsequent editions. It was adopted by groups (as a recited prayer) in groups across the country over the next decade and found its way into "official" AA Literature in a book called "12 Steps and Twelve Traditions" in 1953.
One of the most "Stoic" applications of the ideas of the Serenity Prayer found in the later pages of the Big Book (in the 3rd and 4th editions) is this:
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life
—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment."
From that vantage point one can begin to mindfully address what needs to be changed which is almost always within ourselves.
Sorry to be so pedantic here. You just fell into my personal rabbit hole I call "The Stoics, Spinoza, Sobriety and Me."
Today I am grateful for the opportunity to remember some things because of your comments. Thanks and wishing you serenity in the next weeks ahead. Cheers!
I believe Bill Wilson would have studied the Stoics either before or after he got sober. He explored about almost every philosophy and religion know as he tried to gain and then maintain his sobriety. However he did not write the Serenity Prayer.
Some AA members read it in an obituary in the newspaper and thought it resonated with the objectives of the12 Step program and began to use it an popularize it.
It is generally attributed (in slightly different versions) to the Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
My own personal version:
God, grant me Serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The Courage to change the things I can.
And Wisdom to know where to stash the bodies when I get done changing them.
I like this, not just because it’s amusing, but because it shifts the emphasis from acceptance to change. I spent too many years at Alanon meetings listening to people using serenity and acceptance as excuses for cowardice. For example, grandparents using serenity as an excuse for doing nothing when their grandchildren were being traumatized by alcoholic parents. As someone who grew up in exactly that situation, I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming at them. I believe the real purpose of the Serenity Prayer is to remind us to stop and take a breath and admit what is real, before asking ourselves what action is required.
My PC won't let me "like" your comment, but I do. I agree it really is a matter of mindfulness before acting.
Ha! That is a good alteration. Note that I did not state that Bill W wrote the Serenity prayer. But I thought it was he who had implemented it into the AA world and written into the Big Book.
I stand corrected! It was a (New York) group decision in 1940 to promote the prayer for AA use but it did not appear in the first 164 pages of the Big Book which is the foundation, and unchanged part of all subsequent editions. It was adopted by groups (as a recited prayer) in groups across the country over the next decade and found its way into "official" AA Literature in a book called "12 Steps and Twelve Traditions" in 1953.
One of the most "Stoic" applications of the ideas of the Serenity Prayer found in the later pages of the Big Book (in the 3rd and 4th editions) is this:
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life
—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment."
From that vantage point one can begin to mindfully address what needs to be changed which is almost always within ourselves.
Sorry to be so pedantic here. You just fell into my personal rabbit hole I call "The Stoics, Spinoza, Sobriety and Me."
Today I am grateful for the opportunity to remember some things because of your comments. Thanks and wishing you serenity in the next weeks ahead. Cheers!