SERENITY

Definition of Serenity:
The state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

Synonyms of Serenity:
Calm, composed, tranquil, peaceful, collected, poised, ease, etc.

These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click external links for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.

Love in fellowship.

My serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations.
The higher my expectations of other people are, the lower is my serenity. | More…

We often urge ourselves to hurry up when there’s no good reason for it. At such times, all we really do is create needless tension and anxiety.

The slogan “EASY DOES IT” is our answer to such calls to hurry. The slogan suggests that we simply move into the rhythms of life and “go with the flow.” –Walk In Dry Places/Mel B | More…

Serenity isn’t compatible with struggle. We cannot control forces outside of ourselves. When we choose to surrender our attempts to control, we will find peace and serenity. –Each Day a New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

To worry and speculate about the roads not taken is counterproductive and wasteful of our energies. The mental calmness which we experience as we abstain from alcohol clears away our former confusion. –Food For Thought | More…

As our serenity grows, the clamour and confusion inside our heads dies down. –Unknown

Someone who knew what he was talking about once remarked that pain was the touchstone of all spiritual progress. –Daily Reflections | More…

Accepting our powerlessness over all but our own attitude is the first step we need to take toward finding serenity. Resistance, whether it is against a person or a situation in our lives, will compound the problem, as we perceive it. We can trust, simply trust, that all is well and in our favour, every moment. –Each Day a New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me after working the Steps. As I work the Steps in everything I do, practicing these principles in all my affairs, now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself.  The spiritual awakening I have enjoyed as the result of working the Steps is the awareness that I am no longer alone. –Daily Reflections | More…

We each are the best person in the world at one thing: being ourselves. When we compete, we need to retain a balanced perspective and to think well of ourselves whether we win or lose.

We run the best race we can; therefore, let us not regard others as rivals.  –Each Day A New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

So, here I am, sober.  Successful. Serene. Just a few of the gifts of the program for surrendering, suiting up, and showing up for life every day.

Good days and bad days, reality is a wild ride, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I don’t question how this program works.

I trust in my God, stay involved in AA service, go to lots of meetings, work with others, and practice the principles of the Steps to the best of my willingness each day. I don’t know which of these keeps me sober, and I’m not about to try to find out. It’s worked for quite a few days now, so I think I’ll try it again tomorrow. –Big Book | More…

In the Serenity Prayer, we pray for the wisdom to know the difference between what we can change and what we cannot. When we finally see the reality clearly – that some things we face cannot be controlled by our own will or fixed by force – new possibilities open up to us. When we stop trying to move a mountain, our relationship to the mountain changes. We start to live at peace with the mountain. At the same time we can take greater responsibility for those parts of our lives that we can change. Peace of mind comes from accepting what we can do nothing about and taking responsibility for what we can. –Wisdom to Know/Anonymous

The other Serenity prayer
God, grant me the serenity to stop beating myself up for not doing things perfectly,
Courage to forgive myself because I’m working on doing better, and
Wisdom to know that You already love me just the way I am. –Unknown

You can’t bully yourself into clarity, courage, or peace, and you can’t rush self-discovery or transformation. Some things simply take time, so take the pressure off and give yourself space to grow. –Lori Deschene

Lack of daily maintenance can show up in many ways There are many ways to recover our serenity. We can go to a meeting, phone our sponsor, meet another recovering addict for lunch, or try to carry the message to a newcomer. We can pray. We can take a moment to ask ourselves what simple things we haven’t been doing. When our attitudes head downhill, we can avert a crash with simple solutions. –Just For Today | More…

Serenity is simply a clear-eyed and realistic way of seeing the world, accompanied by inner peace and strength. A favorite definition is “Serenity is like a gyroscope that lets us keep our balance no matter what turbulence swirls around us.” Is that a state of mind worth aiming for? –A Day at a Time | More….