“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.”
August at The Men’s Home is focused on Step 8. After taking an honest inventory in the earlier steps, Step 8 asks us to look specifically at how our actions affected other people.
The first part is straightforward: make the list. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions describes this as looking backward, recognizing where we were at fault, and preparing to repair the damage that was done.
But Step 8 doesn’t ask us to make those amends yet. It asks us to become willing.
That distinction matters. Some names may be easy to put on the list. Others may bring up resentment, guilt, or situations we would rather leave alone. Step 8 requires honesty about those relationships without rushing ahead to fix them.
As the Daily Reflections points out, this work brings together many of the principles developed in the previous steps: courage, honesty, sincerity, thoroughness, and willingness.
The goal is to prepare ourselves to address the past responsibly so that Step 9 can be approached with the right intentions.
What are you talking about this month?
