We read in Holy Scripture: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Yet, in reality, this translation of Matthew 5:3 doesn’t appear nearly as enlightening, as the inspiration that the incomparable Kahlil Gibran writes, which is, “Blessed are the serene in spirit,” which seems to be far more apt in capturing what our Messiah was trying to impress upon His disciples, with His Sermon on the Mount.
In life, especially in this fast paced modern day and age, in which so much appears to be happening, and of which, so many of us feel pulled first in one direction and then pulled back in an entirely different direction; it is thus easy for any one of us, to thereby subsequently lose our serenity, for we are often caught within the grips of a life, that seems to demand so much from us. Yet, it doesn’t really have to be that way, for each one of us is first of all, master of our own being; and secondly we are the ones in control of how we will or will not react to that which is happening all around us. The wisest amongst us, then, are never the ones that go with the prevailing winds of the time; but rather these are people that first establish a firm foundation, which thereby permits them to remain stable, during the tempests of life, and thereby not to be overtly influenced by the ever changing winds of life and its experiences.
The problem for those that get overly excited when everything is going their way; is the fact that these are often the very same people, that also overreact to events when everything appears to be going against them. This type of persona, is quite obviously, going to wear a person out; for even when the highs and lows of a given person’s life appear to balance themselves out; the fact of the matter is for those that are most susceptible to this, that their life becomes something more akin to a roller coaster, which thereby makes for a life, that isn’t serene, at all. On the other hand, those that are calm in spirit, are better able to see the bigger picture; knowing that life has its inevitable cycles, of which, therefore, some days are going to be especially blessed, whereas other days are going to be more challenging – and not only are they okay with that, they appreciate it, for as in anything, repetition of the same thing, day in and day out, tends to be rather dull.
To be serene in spirit, then, doesn’t mean to be passive and thereby taking an attitude of che sara, sara – but rather it means that we are accepting of the fact, that life isn’t always going to be easy, and that events certainly are not always going to go our way; of which, in our understanding of that, we thereby thus take solace in knowing that if we continue to perform good acts as well as to make good decisions, based upon our good thoughts, that in the end, it will all work out -- for those that are serene in spirit, understand well, that those that consistently demonstrate self-control and self-command are the masters of their own fate.