When we read or hear the word “reverence,” we often think about spirituality, faith and religious traditions, or higher powers. However, reverence has a much deeper and wider application than that. We revere our bosses and colleagues (hopefully, depending on your work situation). We revere our significant others and our kids. We revere our friends. We revere our favorite bands and sports teams. We even revere certain routines, coffee shops, t-shirts, and more.
To revere something or someone is to simply treat it with the utmost respect, and to hold it in our hearts in a sacred way. Something revered is something set aside and above from everything else. Reverence requires our attention and our intention. So, what role does reverence play in one’s recovery journey, then?
One of the most popular and long-standing “pathways of recovery” is the 12-Step Program. In each of its varieties including AA, NA, SMART Recovery, Celebrate Recovery and others, reverence is a thread that ties the steps together. From Step 2, “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us…” down to Step 12, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs,” – reverence for self, for higher power, and for others is eminent.
In the substance use treatment field, the most common modes of therapy practiced are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Each of these modes feature the concepts of self-esteem, personal thought perception, behaviors, and awareness of others heavily in their methodology. One could see these concepts as rephrases of simple reverence for one self and for others.
At its core, the recovery journey is about the restoration of one’s hope – hope that the darkness of addiction can and will subside, hope that sobriety and recovery are indeed possible, and hope that life is and will forever be worth living. What is hope without reverence? A person who has hope reveres the sacredness of their own life and of the lives of the people around them. A person who has hope reveres the practices, activities, and routines that help them thrive instead of just survive. A person who has hope reveres the great unknown, accepting with courage whatever trials and tribulations may be experienced tomorrow.
Without reverence, recovery would be impossible. Whether you personally struggle with substance use or not, we encourage you think about how to foster greater reverence this holiday season. Consider the people around you, and whether they help you foster it. Consider the spaces you spend the most time, and whether they help you foster it. Consider what you consume (entertainment, food, drink, purchases, activities) and whether they help you foster it. Once you find that reverence deep within you, protect it and cherish it.
-Written by Chase Cotten, Community Director at The Willow Center
