After hearing of him all my life, I was only recently introduced to the writings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by my spiritual advisor. I can see why some of the early “New Thought” leaders quoted him. Now, I look at some of his works and think “Where have you been all my life?” The answer, of course, it right here. I just was not ready to look or listen.
When I see or hear of something horrible happening, I sometimes wonder what I can do to change things for the better. To “make it right.” Anymore, when this happens, The Serenity Prayer comes to mind: “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.” Of course the answer is that I can only change myself and nobody else.
This is the thought process that Longfellow followed in his essays. His earlier version of The Serenity Prayer went ““For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.” If I were able, I would only change one word. That would be to change “Best” to “Only.” But, then, I am only a person with apparently too much time on his hands.
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