Step 4 states: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. These are 9 words that stopped many who were trying to work the program dead in their tracks. Why? FEAR enters the equation. So, many thought “If they knew the real me no one would want to be near me.” The thing about most, if not all fears is that for every fear there is an underlying kernel of truth hidden in it. In this case, if I were the same person that I was when I committed some of these acts of commission or omission, this is probably true. No one would probably want to be around me.
The saving factor is that I am not the same person that I was then and neither are you. Thus, once I really started working this amazing program to the best of my ability, usually by starting with the shortened version of the 3rd Step, simply saying “God Help Me,” I discovered that I was not any longer alone with my thoughts and actions. Many others had committed similar acts and are now Happy, Joyous, and Free.
The important word here is FREE! So, after taking a moral inventory, I am free of thoughts that “If they only knew” and “Nobody else thinks like me.” We are only as sick as our secrets and, as a result, when I keep them in my head, they are secret.
How do we rid ourselves of our sicknesses and fears? We bring them out by sharing them with others. If I place a telephone pole on the ground, I can do nothing with it. If we all grabbed it, we could carry it away. The fears in my head are my telephone poles. By myself, they are just too heavy. So, when I air them out, they disappear because they are no longer secrets.
Some may have secrets of the nature that an AA meeting may not be an appropriate place to share. Hence, to complete the moral inventory phase, these may have to be shared by a professional like an attorney or therapist. Just choosing which method to share with eases our minds. So now, as Nike says, “Just do it!” So, whoever you choose to share with, it must be shared with someone or it will just do what that telephone pole will do if not shared. It will stay right there and sit there and rot.
When you share your moral inventory, it will no longer be mental excess baggage. You will now be free! So now, continue working your program 24/7/365 to the best of your ability and life will only get better!
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