Why serenity prayer in aa

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.

Our Fellowship's Serenity Prayer can be recited either in the first I, me or third us, we person. When we recite it together at the end of a meeting, it seems to me to have even greater power than when I say it alone, often in the dark, often when I am most afraid.

Either way, when I really need it and mean it, it never lets me down. I have chosen to write it out here in the first person, as a reminder to myself that I am by nature a selfish person. I am instinctively, " resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid " BB p I am also, when left to my own devices, " restless, irritable and discontented " BB p. These things are not, in my experience, unrelated; self centred fear is at the root of my restlessness and irritability.

The fear, the restlessness, the discontent, I used to treat with alcohol; and the treatment, the medicine booze , very nearly killed the patient, me. I can only assume I first came across this life saving prayer when I attended my first meeting; my memory of those times is a bit hazy.

At some point early in my journey to recovery, it did begin to penetrate. In particular, the first line did. It wasn't hard for me to pray for serenity, because serenity was what I had been looking for from a bottle and a glass, a pill, or whatever else seemed to offer me a momentary escape from my own often tormented head. It was included in the "Way of Light," a manual of praise, prayers and meditations compiled by Robbins Howard Chandler.

So where did AA's version come from? It has been misquoted by AA ever since. I suppose they can call it "The Gettysburg Address" too. But it is neither. The real Serenity Prayer has a totally different meaning. So, the next time you're at an AA meeting, have the courage to change the things that should be changed, including AA's misquote of the Serenity Prayer. Terms of Use. Close Menu. Access nearly all our benefits with All-Access Membership and work towards certification at your own pace at no additional cost.

House of Horrors The world's 1 training facility. Membership Benefits Everything you need, in one place. Find a Certified Home Inspector. Ironically, the need to control may also be a response to the unmanageability caused by their out-of-control use of drugs.

And the vicious cycle continues until the addict accepts that there will always be external circumstances that we cannot change. The prayer instead points us to examine our inner life: We cannot directly control our feelings. However, we can influence our feelings through what we can control—our thinking and our actions. By focusing on those two factors, we can attain the final quality promised by the Serenity Prayer: courage.

The Serenity Prayer is a wide door, one that's open to people of all faiths and backgrounds. It speaks wisdom to addicts and non-addicts alike. People who live this prayer discover how to strike a dynamic balance between acceptance and change.

This gift is precious, and it's one that we can enjoy for a lifetime of serenity. The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

As the nation's leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient treatment for adults and youth, the Foundation has 17 locations nationwide and collaborates with an expansive network throughout health care. Many people find it helpful to use the Serenity Prayer, or AA prayer, as a part of their daily reflection practice.

A daily reflection practice often includes reciting the AA meditation or prayer, along with reading an inspirational daily message also referred to as a Just for Today meditation about living in recovery. Daily reflections can be found in books, online, and through email subscriptions. Some people start their day with a daily reflection, while others choose to save their daily reflection for their evening routine. The Serenity Prayer can also serve as meditation in moments of weakness, frustration, or fear.

Reciting the AA Prayer when a person feels a lack of control can have a soothing, calming effect. There is no wrong time to say the prayer or use it as a meditation.

Some people in AA recite the prayer when they are craving alcohol or feel compelled to have a drink. According to Alcoholics Anonymous, the group did not create the Serenity Prayer. The history of the prayer goes back for centuries, long before AA existed, and has been credited to many theologians and saints.