The SZPINNER JULY 2020 NEWSLETTER : The SZPINNER

Keep It Super Simple

Keep life simple! A philosophy worth considering. Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, enjoy your health. Examine all the positive things in your life. Appreciate them. Savour them. Hold them close and enjoy them fully.

Life is short and seems to pass more quickly with each passing year. July’s newsletter is dedicated to “Keeping life simple.”

Sure, it is easy to join the vocal crowd, lamenting and complaining about every turn of events. Or join the news media as it sensationalizes the next ones. Why go there? Like rain, like it or not, it is coming, and it too will pass.

Consider the prayer written by theologian Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr and used by members of AA, the Serenity Prayer provides simple wisdom for complicated lives and puts the focus on acceptance and action:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

There is so much behind those words, even if one is not religious. In fact, some say the ‘GOD’ being addressed stands for ‘Group of drunks.’ Glib, perhaps or too sardonic, the message still has depth and meaning.

Acceptance is the key to happiness. We have no power over many things – trying to fight against or resist the way things are is a waste of energy and only leads to suffering. Serenity comes with acceptance.

Courage is needed to change because one is stepping into the unknown and courage is required to keep on making the needed changes that will lead to a better life.

Wisdom to know the difference between what should be accepted and what should be changed comes from knowledge, from self-introspection, meditation, and from talking with others. It is empowering to believe one can affect changes, a little at a time.

So today, take a moment to read the Serenity Prayer and to think about living a simple life, a life with just a bit less TV, a bit less radio, a bit less technology, a bit less smart phoning, a bit less social media…just a life with a bit less.

So, relax, take it easy and live with this golden rule, “Keep it super simple!”