In reviewing the papers that Father Sam gave me the other day, I filed them in various folders to figure out what he had given me. One folder is marked Other for things that he slipped in because they had some significance to him at the time. This is one of those items.
It is a meditation about the meaning of the Serenity Prayer, and well worth a read and some time to ponder.
One Day at a Time
There are two days in every week about which we should note worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.
One of these is YESTERDAY with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. YESTERDAY has passed beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said; YESTERDAY is gone.
The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. TOMORROW is also beyond our immediate control.
TOMORROW's sun will rise, with in splendor or behind a mask of clouds - but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in TOMORROW, for it is as yet unborn.
This leaves only one day - TODAY. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities - YESTERDAY and TOMORROW - that we break down.
It is not the experience of TODAY that drives men mad - it is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened YESTERDAY and the dread of what TOMORROW may bring.
Let us therefor live but one day at a time.
"God, grant me the calmness to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
No comments:
Post a Comment