![]() ![]() For example, creating positive boundaries, establishing energising habits, and engaging in meaningful creative practices. There are quick fixes we might find helpful (breathing exercises, stepping away etc.) and longer-term conditions for more peace. This sort of tranquility emerges via processes, practices, and behaviours. We can take action to invite more calm and peace to our inner world. ![]() This kind of noise comes from our thoughts, feelings, and judgements. Serenity is not always an easy option when internal feedback loops kick in. And rather than adding to the noise, we can model an alternative approach that might inspire others. For example, we can diffuse it instead of retaliating in an escalating situation. Nurturing serenity from the inside out can also bring peace and gentleness to the world around us. We might ask ourselves: is this a common disturbance for us? What would need to change for the cause of noise to diminish? Or if the cause can’t be altered, how can we shift our position to the noise? How might we implement a boundary, change expectations, or move away from the noise source? The option of tranquility helps us examine the conditions of the disturbance-both in terms of the cause of the noise and our relationship with it. Maybe we can remind ourselves that this is temporary and the discomfort will pass. Perhaps all we can do is tell ourselves a story that invites understanding and tolerance (seeing the situation from another perspective). And we can then respond in a way that allows us to maintain as much composure and energy as possible. We can recognise how the noise has caused disturbance for us. This can include acknowledging the feelings that have been provoked within us. Whether that’s our proximity to it or the source itself, serenity can accept that things are as they are and choose our response to the noise. Serenity is the best option if we are unable to stop the cause of the noise. It enters through our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and nerve endings. We sometimes find ourselves in noisy environments caused by an external disturbance we can’t control. There is always something we can consider on one side of the equation, even when there’s nothing we can do about it on the other. This distinction matters because it allows us to focus on different sides of the coin. Tranquility is about designing our environments, routines, lifestyles, and relationships to be deep sources of energy. Serenity is how we prepare to engage with the world around us in gentle ways. And our month of Tranquility focuses on the conditions of our external world. This is why we examine the relationship with our inner world during our month of Serenity. Tranquility aims to invite peace from the outside to the inside. Serenity helps peace flow from the inside to the outside. This is not a universal definition, just my way of separating two distinct concepts. The Difference Between Serenity and TranquilityĪlthough they are often used interchangeably, it can be helpful to distinguish between Serenity and Tranquility. And posits that serenity is a way of relating to, processing, and engaging with the everyday challenges of ordinary life and the shocks that hit us without warning. It helps us locate ourselves WITHIN the struggles. But the prayer paints an opposite picture. We might picture serenity as a harmonious life without conflict, suffering, and worry. This sometimes gets lost when we think of serenity as distancing from life’s struggles. It acknowledges serenity is not an absence of suffering, but rather it’s a recognition of our position WITHIN life’s disturbances. What I love about this prayer is that it sees serenity not as a destination but as a process. ![]() These are muscles we grow and sustain through rhythm and repetition. ![]() It carries three elements: acceptance, courage, and wisdom. And that peace is nurtured as we distinguish between the two and respond accordingly. It’s a recognition that some things (however scary it is to confront them) CAN be altered. It’s a call for mindful presence in accepting that some things (however much we wish they could) can’t be changed. It also demonstrates what I see as a difference between serenity and tranquility. Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer is an invitation for inner and outer peace. ![]()
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