Step 8 is another one of those steps that can seem...simple. We've gone through a lot to get here. Turned over a lot of rocks in Step 4, looked hard at our character traits in Steps 6 and 7, and now here we are, Step 8. Can it really be as simple as making a list???? Some of us may have heard the phrase "simple does not mean easy!" What do our foundational texts tell us?

From the Big Book. The chapter, Into Action, gets to the core of Step 8: "We subjected ourselves to a drastic self-appraisal. Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past." The point of Step 8 is not to apologize for every little thing we've done, and some of the entries in our Step 4 may not necessitate making amends. It takes time to look across the landscape of our lives. And during that process, it can be easy to slide back into those resentments (I didn't do "it" to that person...they did "it" to me, why do I have to make amends?). Stay with the step. Further in the BB on page 67 is where the message comes through loud and clear: "Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours..." There are some wrongs that don't need an amends but we make the effort to identify these and talk with our sponsors about what does and doesn't. 

From Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Steps 8 and 9 have to do with personal relationships--partners, family, community, work, the world at large. Where might we have done harm? Page 80 in the 12 & 12 says that harm is "...the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to people." Some people rebel at the phrasing about this step separating "the men from the boys." More importantly, it's where good intentions from earlier steps turn into real willingness. 

AUGUST is the 

EIGHTH month