We can make a pretty honest Eighth Step list and still manage to leave a few people off.
Some names are obvious. Others seem to hide between the lines. Maybe we tell ourselves it wasn’t that serious. Maybe too much time has passed. Maybe they hurt us too. Or maybe putting their name on paper would force us to look at something about ourselves we would rather leave alone.
There is no prize for having the longest Eighth Step list, and this isn’t an exercise in digging up every mistake we have ever made. But honesty sometimes requires another look. Who is missing? Who comes to mind and gets immediately dismissed? Sometimes the name we keep finding reasons not to write down is the name worth talking about with our sponsor.
We don’t have to know what an amends will look like yet. That comes later. For now, Step Eight simply asks us to become willing. Sometimes willingness begins by writing down a name.
Is there a name I keep finding reasons to leave off my list?
