Acceptance, Courage, Wisdom

by Susan Porter

Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity
 to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
-- Reinhold Neibuhr, 1940s

I have attended Al-Anon meetings for 29 years and I still use this prayer to help me keep a balanced attitude. Can I also use this simple prayer to help me cope with the collapse of civilization? Is it even possible to have “serenity” in these changing times?

I can find serenity and courage one day at a time using this helpful tool. I can use the three sections of this prayer as healthier lenses through which to view my responses to the world’s predicament. It pulls my mind out of imagining a fearful future into the present moment where I can actually do something.

What are the things I cannot change?

Here are a few of them:

• Other people and their choices. Not everyone chooses to see collapse. Trying to convince them is a waste of my time and energy.
• What has happened in the past. Civilization has been on a collapse trajectory for 10,000 years or more. Unwise choices have been made and consequences will happen.
• The laws of nature. Our biosphere has evolved (or was created) to operate in a particular way. Now it is out of balance and I don’t have the ability to fix it.
• My emotions. I am a human being. I’m going to have a wide variety of emotional responses as things unravel. Denying or suppressing those emotions only hurts me more.

What are the things I can change?

I still have the power to change these things:

• I can accept reality. I don’t have to like it, but I can have more peace and make better choices if I can accept the situation as it is.
• I can adjust my attitude. I get to decide how I act toward others. Today I strive to love others where they are in their collapse journey.
• I can be grateful for what I still have. Self-pity disappears when I just look around and appreciate where I live and what I have.
• I can decide how I want to live. I get to choose what is right for me. Others get to do the same.
• I can ask for help. When I become overwhelmed by swirling emotions and have trouble deciding what to do next, I can find comfort in collapse support groups like Collapse Club.
• I can take action. I can stop doom-scrolling if it makes me feel worse. I can make choices to take better care of my mind, body and spirit. I can become involved in my local community to help others.

What About Wisdom?

Collapse support groups can help me find the wisdom to know what I can’t change and what I still can change. I find people there to talk to who are just like me. They listen and understand how I feel. They share what they have done that helps them cope. I find resources there I didn’t know about before.

When I let go of the struggle of trying to change things I can’t change, I find new energy to apply toward living my life as fully as I can right now.

This story was originally published on Susan's Substack.
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