Invited to speak at a military base, an unforgettable soldier meets the professor at the airport. The first thing the professor notices is the calm expression on the soldier’s face. Heading toward the baggage claim area, the professor is surprised as the soldier keeps detouring and disappearing. Dashing to help an older woman retrieve her suitcase from the conveyor belt, he is gleeful as he hands it over with a flourish. Gone again in a flash, the soldier is seen lifting two toddlers so that they can see Santa Claus while singing Jungle Bells offkey but with joy. Seconds later, the soldier gives detailed patient directions to a grateful tourist.
Amazed, the professor asks, “Where did you learn to live like that?” “During the war,” explains the smiling soldier. “During the war, my job was to clear the minefields. On this dangerous assignment, I saw many of my friends meet an untimely end before my very eyes. I was always extremely anxious or angry until learned to live between the steps.” “Live between the steps?” asks the professor. The soldier gently explains, “I never knew if my next step would be my last. In those moments between picking up one foot and putting it down again, I experienced a whole new reality. I couldn’t control anything, so I decided to let God control everything. It was as if each moment had an eternal meaning. I learned to live between the steps. Living between the steps is really living. Now my life is peaceful and calmer, I spend my time asking God to show me opportunities to help other people take their next step.” For that soldier, prayer was indeed key to serenity. Living between the steps is the key to serenity.
Serenity has a Latin root meaning clear or cloudless, as in a fair sky. Serenity is a perspective, a way to view the world. A prayerful and eternal perspective keeps us in the present moment. We lose serenity when we abandon the present moment. Prayer helps us to stay in the now. When we focus on the past, we are pulled from the present moment and have thoughts of regret. Or our minds stray to the future, to the not yet, where we anticipate with worry and anxiety the unknown. Serenity means calm, peaceful, and tranquil. Serenity is beyond circumstances because it is an inner state – a spiritual state that is above the chaos and agitation that may surround us. God is with us, and in that fact lies our peace. God understands our distress, as we see in Jesus praying while literally sweating blood. Yet, we can experience serenity and, in those moments, experience God’s great gift. We remember that gift when we are not serene but can not deny God’s power, and in that moment, our memory gives us hope.
Spiritual writers and psychologists suggest that serenity is something that we can practice. Prayer is a practical practice that we can incorporate into our day. Some helpful suggestions and images to choose from are the following four options: