God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things that I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
The plaque has been on the wall for a while. However, the world has changed significantly since it was put up there.
When I glance up at it, I smile. It is so apt at the moment. Because things are changing so quickly, and (like many) I simply can't keep up with the changes. Even just a couple of years ago, I could have told you what was happening in my life, what was going to happen. Not so now. There are so many things that I've given up, or simply don't do now. There is such uncertainty. So many things planned, then cancelled or rearranged.
Is this an effect of the pandemic? Of changes in society? Of other people's decisions affecting my life? Of my ever-advancing years?
I really don't know if it's just one thing - it's a combination of things. However, I know I can't go back to the way things used to me. Things have moved on.
So - I need to take it slow, and focus on the things where I can take control. New challenges, new opportunities.
And I need to stop worrying about the rest. All the things I used to do. The many years of service that I completed, and have now had to let go. I don't mourn their passing any more. I celebrate the fact that I did these things, and made a difference.
And I know there will be new things to do, just around the corner ...
"I keep being asked when we can go 'back to normal' or 'like it was before'. My personal thoughts: We've added a new disease to our population, more infectious and more severe than flu. The world pre-2020 no longer exists - we may want it to, but it just doesn't." - Christina Pagel, Professor of Operational Research and a member of the UK Government's SAGE Committee, in a Twitter quote...
"Th' whole worl's in a terrible state o' chassis" – Captain Boyle, Act III, Juno and the Paycock (Sean O'Casey)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV UK)
