PHILOSOPHICAL WISDOM — 5 CENTS
God, Grant Me Respite from Self-appointed Self-improvement Gurus
If you tell a story, make it your story
Writing solid, helpful philosophical musings with real value and staying power is not impossible. Publications like Pragmatic Wisdom are packed with them. But the trendy new thing among questionable writers is to cobble together vague pseudo-philosophy to dazzle readers with horse hockey. We’re on to you.
For the fifth time today, I read an article about how I can get inside my head, see the light, and solve all the problems of the universe simply by ________________. (Fill in the blank with vagaries.)
Balderdash.
I enjoy an inspiring anecdote, meme, or story as much as anyone, but for the love of god, sometimes writers could consider whether they are actually saying something we haven’t heard a hundred times and whether it makes sense.
That thought made me think about the Serenity Prayer — you know the one: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
It has an interesting history. Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr originally wrote it for a small church service in the early 1930s…
