Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
When we hear the word harmed, most of us immediately think of physical injury. But harm is much broader than that. To harm someone is to cause damage to their well-being. It can be physical, emotional, mental, financial, or even damage to their reputation. Sometimes the bruise heals while the words we spoke are remembered for years. Sometimes the money is paid back while the trust never quite returns. Harm is anything we did that left another person carrying a burden they didn't deserve.
This step asks us to be honest enough to see our part.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: the people we harmed usually didn't get to vote on whether they were harmed. We don't get to say, "I didn't mean it," or, "They should be over it by now." The wound belongs to the person who was cut. Our intentions may explain our actions, but they don't erase their consequences.
If someone still carries pain because we shattered their trust in us, then that belongs on our list. Not because we're bad people, but because good people living a sick drinking life often leave behind damage they never intended to cause. Step Eight is where we become willing to stop arguing with the past and start making it right.
Where have you created harm lately and what are you going to do about it?
