365 Questions to Ask Yourself in 2012 - Part 3

If you're just checking in, I'm using this list as a focus for my writing and as a means of looking within in 2012. It's all part of my process to be self aware and to keep things in perspective.

"What's the most sensible thing you've ever heard someone say?"

Oh boy. There are a lot of pearls of wisdom from which to chose. We've all heard someone say "always wear clean underwear" (as if you wouldn't?), or "save for the future" (which you should - nobody wants to be a 55 year old hobo), but what is that one thing that has stuck with you since you heard it and has made an impact on you in your life?

I am the daughter of sensible parents - they have given me more than enough sensible and practical advice for one lifetime. I have been lucky. I was raised by sensible, stable people. I believe that this is why I am generally sensible and stable myself. No one likes it when I become unpredictable, so I prefer to remain somewhat on the straight and narrow, with the occasional dose of ridiculousness, just to keep it fresh (and to give the relatives something to talk about). I am, overall, sensible and reliable and feel good about knowing that people can count on me, or put their trust in the fact that I am extremely punctual (which is a virtue that is next to Godliness - I'm lookin at YOU, 99% of my friends).

This piece of advice is something you will all be familiar with -

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.
The prayer of Serenity. You don't have to be Christian, or believe in any God, to understand the simple and sensible advice behind this prayer, attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, who first used it in a sermon in the 1940's.

Accept the things that are not in your power to change. Courage to change what you can. Wisdom to know the difference between knowing what you can and cannot affect.

My late grandmother had this verse cross stitched and framed. It resides now on a wall, in the kitchen, at our family cabin. I remember asking her once what it meant, and she simply explained that sometimes in life there are things we cannot change because it's out of our hands, but that it should never stop us from doing what we can to help others, or ourselves, if that is God's will.

I think the general message of the prayer is a very sensible one, religion aside. Take God out of it and you still have a clear piece of advice, that can apply to many situations in many different lives. Sometimes, the best advice is to just accept and let go.

Serenity. Acceptance. Courage. Wisdom. Faith.

What is the most sensible thing someone has ever said to YOU?