reflections

Today is one of those days when there is time to reflect. I am pottering, catching up on a few long overdue things, taking little breaks here and there.

An email this morning wished me "a brilliant year ahead". That comment made me think about the year just gone. It has had some pretty tough moments in it. It has had some good news too. I don't think I want to look at the balance, it is better to look ahead a little, and plan for an exciting, happy year from now. The birds still sing, the butterflies dance. The sun still shines, the moon hangs in the sky (back to front and upside down, occasionally turning red but still there). On the whole I am stronger, hopefully a little wiser, and, when I need to, choosing how I react to things that happen.

I used to plan so much for the future. I have learnt that we live only in the now. That does not mean we are being selfish, living in the now, and it can also include preparations for the future. The now is all that we know we have. My now is pretty good. Yes I live alone, or rather, with a ragamuffin dog who is now learning to be good when he escapes onto the road. Sometimes human company would be nice. But tonight I am dining in the village, a bar-b-q in the street. This blog post was interrupted by two friends calling in to say "auguri". The sun is streaming in my window. I have spoken with most of my family over the past couple of days. I have food, clothing, a roof over my head. I can paint, play the piano, sleep, walk, do as I choose. What more do I need?

When I lived in Morrinsville I had the Serenity Prayer on my kitchen wall. Sometimes, depending on the space you are in, it can sound trite. But it made a lot of sense to me. I hadn't thought of it for a long time, but it has come back to me now.

GOD, grant me the
Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

~By Reinhold Neibuhr

His wife wrote in an undated letter:
Often the prayer is not quite as he wrote it. The form he preferred was as follows:
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed, courage
to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

The Wikipedia reference is also interesting.

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