I was watching a program the other night on an intervention. A friend of mine, who knew the parties involved asked me if I would watch. So, I did. The young man involved was a heroin addict, and was leading a pathetic life on the streets. Thank God the intervention seemed to work. He ended up in treatment and after 8 months looked and seemed a different person. Only time will tell. But I was just an observer and not a participant. Or was I?
But I was reminded again this morning about intervention, because of a phone call from another friend, who is trying to intervene on a friend of his, who is in trouble. So, I was forced to think about intervention.
What I thought about was what that word means. Intervention. To go between or to come between. And the thought hit me how often, even though I’ve been in recovery a long time, I have had to have an intervention and how many interventions I have been on.
How many times have others had to step between me and my character defects? How many times did my sponsor had to intervene on my bouts of anger and self pity? My selfish pride? And how often did he direct me to a solution to all of these things? Things I would not have done for myself. Things that I stubbornly wanted to hang onto and put myself in peril, even though I couldn’t see that. How many times have others had to awaken me to the facts, which I didn’t want to see or face? A lot I can tell you.
Thank God for those who have the courage to show us the way, when we don’t want it. I know how resistive I have been in the past and how I can still be that way. How often I wanted to slap the hand of help away from me and go on with my hanging onto things so harmful to this way of life. It’s so hard sometimes to achieve that humility, which is so necessary to maintaining this life we’ve found in this program. It has been for me at times.
This is what I was thinking about today. How I have to pay attention and listen to those who can see in me what I can’t see in myself. I heard a long time ago that when we stop learning, we stop living. I still have much to learn and there are a lot of others who can still teach me what I need to know. I’m still going to have to be open to those who are going to intervene in my life. I hope I can still welcome them.
Ahhh…imagining that irresistible “new car” smell?