Serenity Prayer without the Praying
It is reasonable to be afraid of death, to worry about it from time to time and occasionally to freak out about the thought of yourself physically dying or physically dead. It’s okay. Do not ask yourself whether or not this is normal; there are more important questions to consider, such as:
- “How much life should I devote to preparing for death?”
- “How much of myself should be defined by surrender to fear?”
- “How much time should I spend fearing that which is inevitable?”
Here the pious would be well-served to recite the serenity prayer (and to actually listen to the words). Death is something that we cannot change, and atheists/agnostics have the serenity to accept it without dreaming up heavenly detours around mortality. By knowing the difference between that which cannot be changed and that which can, we gain the courage to confront things in our lives and in the world that very much need changing.
