A Sunday Kindness: Taking our Aspirations One Moment at a Time

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
―The Serenity Prayer

Since high school, I have been enamored of the Serenity Prayer.  I first read it on a graduating senior's yearbook page.  Attributed to American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, the prayer is used by Alcoholics Anonymous and various other 12-step programs.  My yoga teacher frequently has us say it together at the end of class.  I always seem to take a deeper breath before I say those lines -- asking for serenity, courage and wisdom.  Seems like a tall order.  Very aspirational.

But the Serenity Prayer is actually longer and I particularly like the next two lines:

Living one day at a time

Enjoying one moment at a time

Perhaps one moment at a time, we can not only enjoy our lives, but also move forward on our aspirations.  There is kindness in allowing ourselves to take small steps.