A living amends is change that continues after the conversation ends.
If the mistake involved unreliability, the living amends is connected to becoming reliable. If it involved dishonesty, honesty becomes more than a one-time admission. If it involved absence, showing up begins to carry meaning.
The phrase is sometimes misunderstood as a substitute for every uncomfortable amends. In its fuller meaning, it describes the life that supports the words. A repaired fence is useful, but not if we keep backing the truck through it every weekend.
Living amends turns Step Nine from an isolated event into an ongoing change in direction. The amends may have a date on the calendar. The way of living does not require an expiration date.
What does the phrase “living amends” mean to you?
