“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.”
– Serenity Prayer
Serenity
Serenity is our inner state of being calm, peaceful, tranquil and untroubled. To be serene does not require us to be in a serene environment externally, even though it makes it easier to be serene internally. Serenity places us to be at peace with ourselves, with another, and with the world. Metaphorically, serenity is the oasis amidst the bustling city.
While we can never quiet the world down or make it more peaceful universally, it is of our own individual choosing to try to move towards that inner state ourselves. What does a serene person appear like? Are they quiet? Are they introverted? Are they solitary? They may hold those common characteristics but these characteristics are not a prerequisite to being more serene. But how do we do that in a society that also contains extroversion, noise, and chaos?
Much of our journey towards serenity is developing an awareness of what is in our mindset that leads us away from it. Are we aware that we are not serene? Are we aware that we don’t have a positive mindset towards ourselves, towards others, or towards life in general? Are we aware of everything that is currently in our lives that we feel grateful for? Are we aware of why we are blessed already? Are we aware, period? Serenity isn’t about doing less. It isn’t a state of doing. It is a state of becoming or a state of being. We can be very busy and still be serene inside. We can also be very non-busy and not be serene inside. So much of achieving a state of serenity involves our mindset and taking a real honest look and assessment of it. If we cannot be honest with ourselves, we cannot see ourselves in that authentic way. We can fool ourselves in our mind, but our body will not feel serene and at peace.
So, if we make a choice to become more serene, how do we do that? First, just take notice what troubles you or pulls you away from a calm state. Just noticing or becoming aware is a step towards serenity. Whatever you notice or become aware of, don’t judge it or put yourself down for it. Stay compassionate towards yourself. Often, we are reacting from a place of lack and it is figuring out what that source of lack is. Play detective towards your inner workings. Whatever our source of lack (lack of connection, lack of appreciation, lack of respect) points towards our deeper fears (fear of being alone, fear of loss, fear of unworthiness) which is really our brain’s way of protecting us from a place of danger even though these deeper fears are our psychological fears vs true safety fears.
Understanding our own psychology moves us towards a different path away from troubled towards tranquility. We know that our deepest psychological fears are unfounded. We know that our deepest fears are the source of our feelings of lack. We know that our feelings of lack underlie our state of feeling troubled. And if our deepest fears are unfounded, then every layer on top is also unfounded which creates the space to move towards abundance than lack.
Moving towards abundance requires us to become aware of what we can be grateful for. Simple things in our lives that we take for granted ie the lungs to breathe, the legs to walk, the ears to hear, eyes to see, the brain to think. We become more and more aware of the magical magnificence of what we are made of – the trillion cells that are perfectly orchestrated to exist in harmony and co-create systems to allow us to have our limited multi-sensorial human experience.
Moving towards abundance requires us to have a deep appreciation of what we already have in our lives at the present moment – a roof over our heads to protect us from the elements, a person in our life that we can share our life experiences with, clothing to keep us warm, food to provide the physical fuel to keep our cells working and not die, a world that provides us oxygen, and a awe-inspiring natural environment that takes our breath away.
Moving towards abundance moves us towards gratitude, appreciation, positivity, and belief. This state of being transcends unfounded fears, insecurities and negativity.
Moving towards abundance shifts us to a consciousness that we are at One with all. We co-exist with others around us, with the environment, with the natural and man-made elements. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. We are a divine being created from divinity.
At such a state, problems feel insignificant or come with a purpose to teach us something that we were unaware of before. At such a state, we accept and harmonize with all that is. At such a state, we are serene, peaceful, tranquil and untroubled. At such a state, we become I AM as one with all and at one with our divine creator.
Turning it over to you:
How would you describe your inner state of serenity?
What blocks you from feeling more serene more often?
What inner mind shift do you need to make to move towards having more serene moments without changing what is going on around you in life?
What does “you are a spiritual being having a human experience” mean to you right now?
What would serenity bring into your life?
Tips and tools to hopefully help you:
- Write on a sticky memo note asking yourself what you are grateful for today. Place it on your bathroom mirror. Everyday that you look into the mirror, reflect on that simple question.
- Look up at the clouds more often. They are usually present and available to you free of charge.
- Close your eyes and notice all the sounds around you.
- Make time for you to be with the serenity of nature.
- At the beginning of the day, say a silent thank-you for being given the gift of another day to live. At the end of the day, say a silent thank-you for being given the gift of another day to experience.