The Four B's

I was speaking with one of our clients the other day and I mentioned the four “B’s” to him. He said, “You should write those down so I can think some more about them!”

So here they are:

Brokenness. Most everyone who comes into treatment understands this well. Anger with their higher power. Guilt and shame around relationships. Frustration with were they are in their personal life. Concerns with their current mental state. Coming into treatment is like having an “anti-brokenness plan.” Through our group work and morning meditation, through our one-on-one counselling, and through the programs we have developed, brokenness is addressed at three levels:

• With ourselves

• With our family, friends and community, and

• With our higher power

Being. In dealing with our brokenness, we can begin to see who we really are and who we are meant to be. Working through the Twelve Steps, we can see what we can become as we get our lives refocused, as we make amends, as we do a moral inventory, and as we discover our connection to our higher power.

Belonging. Community is so important and as we look at where we were and where we are going, we can reconnect to the good and leave everything else that was so painful behind. Community is our Simon House brotherhood, our good friends, our family. Through our AfterCARE and FamilyCARE programs and through our Alumni which assists with sponsors and positive peer support groups, our lives can remain wholesome and sober!

Becoming. The opposite of brokenness is restoration. If we do the work, we can be restored to our higher power. We can be restored to family. And we can be restored in our heat, mind and soul. What we can become can be so powerful, life changing and exciting! May you become all you can be!

- John.