One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
What is to be done with the list of those we have harmed, as suggested in the Eighth Step? The Ninth suggests we make amends, “whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
Prudent and honest self-searching will be necessary. A casual apology, for example, is rarely enough to get rid of guilt for damaging criticism. It may, indeed, reopen an old wound. A change of attitude can do much more to make up for past unkindnesses.
If I have deprived anyone of any material thing, I will acknowledge the debt and pay it in full.
Rifts between me and my relatives or former friends can often be healed by swallowing my pride and making the first overtures toward reconciliation. Even if only a little of the blame was mine, the generous gesture will benefit me.
Today’s Reminder:
Step Nine, taken with care and prudent judgment, will relieve me of a burden I have no need to carry.
“Love and patience can make ample amends for past injuries; they restore us to sanity and our lives to serenity.”