No Graduating Services
We are not perfect, and never will be in this life.
That is the reason there are no graduation services heldat 12-step meetings!
That’s why they say, “Keep Coming Back!”
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There is a 4th Step Guideavailable onlinefor all 12-step members.
An inventory doesn’t change things; it simply lists things.
Your inventory is only a story of your feelings and acts from the beginning until now."
There finally came a time when I realized that I better get going on the 12 steps.
By meattending so many meetingsI knew who I wanted to help me with the steps.
I went along just fine until I came upon the 4th step, and I hit a wall.
I have to take a moral inventory of myself every day of my life.
I have to look back and see to it that I like what Skip has done.
Loveya,Skip
Step 4: Being Honest
Here I am still on step 4.
Been here for weeks, and weeks it will take to complete.
There must be 100 questions there, and I am still in the childhood part.
It is a very hard thing for me to do but I must do this.
Being in my 40s, I asked the question, why dear God?
Why go back to the past, the painful past?
The past is gone, today is here, and tomorrow is my hope.
I see now why I must do this and continue to do so.
My mother had analcoholic addictionand died at 49; my brother did as well and died at 48.
Forty-seven is coming for me, and I am not going.
This step is hard and can be painful, but I only ask that you do it.
One hour a day is not that much time.
And also remember we are all here for each other.
SS
Step 4: A Journey
Step 4 started out for me as a very scary thing.
“Moral” inventory?
I struggled with questions of morality for most of my life.
I came from a religious background that was strict, conservative, and self-righteous.
Now, to get through Step 4.
First, I had to list 10 physical attributes about myself that I liked.
Then, I had to list 10personality traitsabout myself that I liked.
Another list was at least 10 people who loved me.
I had to read these lists every morning and every night for two weeks.
Draw a line down the center, and then put a mark in the middle of the line.
He told me to start making marks on the line, denoting major events in my life.
Once I had done all this, I was ready for Step 4.
Now, why this stuck with me, I don’t know, but I decided to try it.
And I found that, yes, indeed, this was the best way for me.
So I embarked on my 4th step journey.
I wrote, and I wrote, and I wrote.
I made lots of progress, but one day, I just couldn’t write anymore.
I talked about it in meetings.
Then, a friend in the program invited me toan ACOA meeting.
I went to that meeting, and after only 10 minutes, the brick wall had fallen down.
I resumed writing my 4th step and completed it in just another week.
ACOA opened my eyes to many things that I had suppressed.
With my 4th step completed, I was ready (or so I thought) forStep 5.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
