I spent part of my Sunday reading The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. It is a children’s story written in 1943, full of poetic metaphors and spiritual lessons. I am a member of a 12 step program, a recovering drug addict with 13 years of sobriety. In order to maintain sobriety it is important that we [people in recovery] “continue to grow along spiritual lines”. Lately I’ve been stalled in my recovery program; restless and irritable; lonely and depressed. My sponsor thought it was time for me to read The Little Prince. He says I’m like the fox. I know what he really means is he wants me to learn the lesson of the fox.
When the little prince meets the fox he wants to play and be his friend. But the fox is unwilling because first he needs to be tamed. The little prince does not understand this. So the fox explains that they will “establish ties”, they will start slow and come to trust and understand one another, and finally they will become unique to one another in all the world. “One only understands the things one tames”, “if you want a friend, tame me….” said the fox.
So MANY of us need to be tamed. We have lost faith. Many have been betrayed by our friends, lovers, churches, communities, governments, heroes, mentors. For those of us with addictions we have even been betrayed by our own bodies and minds. We have lost the ability to feel safe with one another. And particularly for people with wreckage in their past, rebuilding trust is a slow process.
So yes, sometimes I am like the fox. But the good news is that I don’t have to be an untamed fox. I have choices today. I can make a leap of faith. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous tells me to trust in an infinite God, rather than my finite self. So I will open my heart to those in the fellowship who will mentor me, and start the process of being tamed.
