As I read today’s #BlogElul
prompt, I immediately found myself thinking about the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. ~ Reinhold Niebuhr
While its universal nature
has led, at times, to oversaturation and overuse, I think that the serenity prayer conveys a significant message for Elul. (As
a reminder, the Hebrew month of Elul, for Jews, is a time of introspection and
reflection that leads up to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which is also
the start of the High Holy Days. #BlogElul is an effort to reflect through writing.)
I work hard on recognizing
those things which are truly out of my control.
It’s not easy. Those can often be
the things that frustrate me the most. Learning to let them go and focus fully on the
things that I can impact, on ways that I can make a difference, is an ongoing
process for me.
Are there direct applications
to the world of disability awareness, acceptance and inclusive practice? Of
course.
Here’s one:
While we may not be able to
change the way some people will speak about (or to) an individual with
disabilities, we can change our response. Despite the fact that we may feel frustrated, sad or downright angry,
channeling that emotion and crafting a well-thought out response may help to
educate the person who has been offensive. Here is a great list of responses from the Friendship Circle Blog.
Be sure you never miss a post from Removing the Stumbling Block:
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