Serenity

12. “And the wisdom to know the DIFFERENCE.”   The definition: “Difference n. the quality of being partly or totally unlike in nature, form, or quality”   In this instance, the imagery became my central focus, since the text held no surprises for me. I carefully crafted an illustration that you cannot see here. It consisted of…

11. “And the wisdom to KNOW the difference.”   As I have mentioned repeatedly here, the words of the Serenity Prayer were familiar and simple ones. I instinctively knew (or thought I knew) what each word meant. I prayed the prayer thousands of times, perfectly content that I understood what I was saying. But the 1934 Webster’s…

10. “And the WISDOM to know the difference”   The definition: “Wisdom n. the quality of judging soundly concerning what is true or false”.   This drawing is difficult to describe in terms of the Serenity Prayer alone. In the Twelve Steps of recovery, the insanity which all addicts and alcoholics suffer can be traced to “a lack…

9. “The COURAGE to change the things I can”   In making this drawing, I may have made an error. “Courage” was one of the first words I looked up in the 1934 Webster’s dictionary. I suppose I was curious to learn how any dictionary would define that familiar word, so I went looking for it among…

8. CHANGE “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not CHANGE”   The word “Change” seems simple enough; it describes one thing becoming another. Picture a chrysalis becoming a butterfly. Or, it could refer to exchanging one thing for another, like changing a light bulb. The 1934 Webster’s Dictionary definition confirmed all…

7. NOT “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can NOT change”   I have to confess something. I stole this illustration…from myself. Let me explain. Shortly after buying that 1934 Websters Dictionary, I looked up the word “unmanageable”. Its roots led to a horseback riding ring called a “manege”. A horseback rider would…

6. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I CAN not change”   I did not begin the Serenity Drawings with the goal of creating Twelve Drawings. I didn’t see very many substantial words in the beautiful but brief Serenity Prayer. While words like “God” and “Courage” were captivating, there was nothing remarkable about words…

5. THING “God grant me the serenity to accept the THINGS I cannot change.”   As I looked up Serenity Prayer words in my old Webster’s dictionary, I was continually surprised. For example, I have used the word “thing” since an early age and never gave it a second thought. I might ask my mother, “Where is…

4. ACCEPT “God grant me the serenity to ACCEPT the things I cannot change.”           My 12 drawings of the Serenity Prayer were not created in any certain order. The 1934 Websters dictionary sat on my desk for months and I was not methodical about choosing which word to look up next.…

3. SERENTITY “God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change”   The Serenity Prayer sounds rather sweet…. as if as if it was specifically written for an inspirational poster or a sentimental greeting card. The familiar words can often be nestled near a setting sun, ocean shore, or mountain vista. The…