I think it goes like this
Give me strength to change what I can change
Give me patience to accept what I can’t change
Give me knowledge to know the difference.
How should that be properly phrased? Who said it? Is there more to it?
That’s AA’s “Serenity Prayer”. Here’s an interesting website about it:
That’s the “serenity prayer.” It’s common among twelve step groups. It goes,
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.
Slight hijack: When I was growing up, for some reason, there was something hanging in the stairway landing with a translation of this prayer in french. (Not a framed picture, more like something embroidered or made out of fabric of some sort in any case.) I still remember most of it, though I don’t remember much french, and I think the language is prettier than the english version. Let’s see if I can spell it right at all.
“Mon dieu, aidez-moi: a accepter serenement ce que je ne peux changer, a changer ce que je peux avec courage, et a savoir faire la difference.”
(The terms aren’t a strict translation… a literal translation of this would be along the lines of “My god, help me: to accept serenely that which I cannot change, to change what I can with courage, and to know how to tell the difference.” I also like how it fits ‘savoir-faire’ in like that.)