There is an intervention in every addict’s life. It is called Grace. Every minute of every day, Grace is available to everyone on earth. Whether it is received or not is a matter of circumstance. In addiction this is known as the “moment of clarity”. “Oh, my God, I’m killing myself, and I can’t stop!” The acceptance of this devastating truth, the admission that there is no control, is the springboard into a spiritual life, a life of happy, joyous freedom.
Bill’s delusion was so strong that he did not think that alcohol was a problem. He felt as if he was lying in the gutter looking down on everyone else. It never occurred to him that he had lost all control. Every morning he was at the liquor store buying a half pint of vodka which he finished and pitched out of the car by the mailboxes at the end of the road. Then conveniently “changing his mind” he drove to a different liquor store and bought a quart to get him through the day. Since he was already impaired by the half pint, he was prevented from exercising any control at all. He was doomed. The obsession made him drink the first half pint and then the physical craving kicked in and he wouldn’t stop until he drank all he had bought or passed out.
The mental impairment of the brain with alcohol or drugs was the solution to the
problem of fear. It worked every time we did it—it was magic, but magic is an illusion, we could not stay there. It is a lie. The intervention, the Grace, the moment of clarity is the miracle. A miracle requires positive action. We can’t get anywhere if we don’t know where we are, so the realization of where we are is the starting line. “Dig Deep in One Place” explains the miracle of the Twelve Steps, how to take responsibility for ourselves and stay in love with the world and with life instead of running from ourselves and our fear.