Many of us said “sorry” plenty of times before we ever got sober. Sometimes we meant it. Sometimes we desperately meant it. Then we went out and did the same thing again.
Eventually, the word can lose some of its value.
Step Eight begins preparing us for something deeper than an apology. Making things right may include saying we are sorry, but recovery also asks us to change. If we apologize for being unreliable and continue being unreliable, the words don’t carry much weight. If we apologize for dishonesty while continuing to lie, nothing has really been repaired.
We are learning that amends are not only something we say. They become part of how we live. The strongest apology may eventually be a changed life that no longer keeps creating the same harm.
Is there an apology in my life that needs to be supported by changed behavior?
