How to acquire serenity in dark times

I spent a chunk of my growing up years in Nanyuki. Down there, we had a neighbour, an old man, who lived alone. He carved wooden cooking spoons and artefacts and would hawk them around the village.

He was always so cheerful and every time he stopped at the gate, he would whistle out aloud to attract the attention of potential customers.

My siblings and I would run out and beg him to tell us a story, and he always obliged. After entertaining us, and not having made a sale, he would walk away, humming a song.

Many afternoons were spent watching him delicately make beautiful art while he told us frightening tales featuring giants. He would then send us off with little pieces of wood as gifts.

When I asked my mum why he lived alone, had no children or wife, I was told that they had all died in a road accident. And the old man, in his hey days, had been a successful auditor in one of the country’s top banks.

Looking back at how cheerful the old man always was, I can’t help but wonder how he was not a sorry depressed man considering the hand life had dealt him. And I think I found the answer to this in the Prayer of Serenity. He lived it, and that is why he appeared so at peace.

An excerpt from the powerful piece;

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.

Living one day at a time; 
enjoying one moment at a time; 
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; ….

So live life knowing that there will be good times and hard ones. You will hit rock bottom at some points, but if you don’t let the dark cloud consume you, then you will also get to the good times.

Some days you will afford to have champagne for breakfast and on some days, water will do. And it is OK. At some point, you will face heartbreaking pain and other times, wonderfully glorious days. That is just life, they didn’t say that it would be easy, but that it would all be worth it.