“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi at Inspiring Quotes
On a day like today in 2020, I replied to a prompt that required us to come up with something to write about silence, and the instructions are left to the individual’s interpretation.
Write something about silence.
Write something loud.
Write something that should be spoken out loud.
Write something that should be whispered.
Write something, anything.
The prompt came from the Sky Collection Publication on Medium, and I settled on a Tanka to write about serenity. I hope the tanka speaks for itself and paves the way for you to breeze through the holiday season in peace and harmony in your homes and with the state of our world today.
A Tanka follows a pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. Ideally, one 5-lined tanka should suffice to get one’s message across. Here, I wrote it in two stanzas. Enjoy the prayer.
Change what you can change accept the unchangeable know the difference untwist distorted thinks with realistic expectations My anchor and yours none misleading, none untrue To feel peace within learn to manage emotions create habits that serve you Therein lies serenity *** © 2021 selmamartin.com
Today, Friday, December 10th, 2021, I’m reposting with a pingback to Fandango’s Flashback Friday in hopes that the prayer will touch one person.
To benefit from this new serenity prayer, you’ll need to suspend a few things — like your need to fight everything that comes your way, like the belief that you must explain; need to explain to be understood. You don’t. And neither do you need to understand everything.
There’s too much going on, distractions — all of it; bombardment of information, relentless stimulation of our senses, noise all the time. We need to shut it down, retrieve and learn to listen to the silence, zoom out, and look at ourselves from above — observe, in silence. Calm and serenity are what we need right now.
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars,
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
and see yourself running with them.”
~ Marcus Aurelius
So, change what you can change, accept what cannot be changed, and then just let things be.
First published on Medium as The New Serenity Entreaty.
Image Credits: Serenity- Photo by Rulo Davila from Pexels
Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays to all.
- This Happened To Me: Thank You, Susi, The Short Of It - November 8, 2024
- Clasp The Hands and Know: A Poem by John Masefield - November 7, 2024
- Wordless Wednesday - November 6, 2024
So, change what you can change, accept what cannot be changed, and then just let things be……I like these words of yours ❤️👍🏻
Sweet woman. Thanks.
Welcome dear😜👍🏻
My pleasure 🥰