When we engage in our recovery program, we find it helpful to go through a process of cleaning up our past mistakes. We come to understand our fault in situations in which we were harmed or harmed others, and become willing to go to any lengths to right our past transgressions. However, there is quite a bit more to righting past wrongs than simply apologizing. We need to show that we have changed through our actions rather than just our words. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous explains, “A remorseful mumbling that we are sorry won’t fit the bill at all.” Many of the people we go to make amends to, especially family and loved ones, have heard us say that we are sorry many times, and their skepticism that we have changed is entirely justified. Making amends is not just a checklist—we understand the harms we have caused and change the way that we live our lives to ensure that we will not repeat the same actions that hurt the other person. Living a truly spiritual life in recovery requires that we clean up our past and continue, in the present, to take moral inventory throughout our day. Those whom we have hurt may not forgive us, but they may come to see that we were sincere in our amends when we show that we are making and genuine and continuous effort to change ourselves for the better. The Big Book tells us that “our behavior will convince them more than our words. We must remember that ten or twenty years of drunkenness would make a skeptic out of anyone.” Being fully aware that our words mean little when trying to make up for our harms, we do more than just tell them we are sorry—we ask them what we can do to right the wrong and we follow through with what they ask of us. Making amends is about action rather than words, and we show through our actions that we are honest in our attempts to change our lives for the better through sobriety.
You can change your story for the better through recovery. By making the decision to seek help now, you can begin rebuilding your life and repairing the damage done by addiction and alcoholism. Oceanfront Recovery, a treatment facility in beautiful Laguna Beach, is dedicated to providing you all the tools necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety. For more information about individualized treatment options, including Detox and Residential Treatment, please call today: (877) 279-1777
