8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Okay, now these steps have taken to meddling. Let’s not bring anybody else into this. This is my own personal struggle. I can handle this myself, thank you. Bring someone else into this process and it becomes painfully real that I can’t operate in a vacuum. None of us can.

We like to think we can, but we cannot. We cannot isolate our actions from each other. What we do affects those closest to us first, and then it creates a wider swath, sometimes affecting people we don’t even know. That’s because, as a human race, we are all together. Just ask the first Adam. (See below.)

The creators of the Twelve Steps are sneaky with this one, but I’m onto this. They want me to make another list and just be willing to make amends at this point. But I know they’re not going to leave it at that. I read ahead. They’re going to make me contact the people on my list that I have harmed and make restitution, and my list is growing. Thank goodness they’re only asking me to be willing at this point. That’s hard enough. But that’s another day. That’s why these are steps.

We Are All Together
by John Fischer

Adam stood in the garden
And thought that
No one was watching
And he was free to do whatever he pleased
No one would see

But he failed to see that he was
Part of one humanity
And all who came after
Would suffer for his own selfish ways
All of their days

You can’t imagine that you have the right
To lived your own life
Thinking you’re the only one
And no one will care what you do.

You don’t live alone
We are all one in the Lord
You don’t sin alone
We must all bear the same load

You don’t live alone
We are all one in the Lord
You don’t sing alone
We must all sing the same chord

Don’t you know that we are all together
Don’t you know that we are all together
Don’t forget that we are all together
Remember we are all together
In the Lord

“We Are All Together” is track #9 on the album “Still Life” available for purchase or live streaming at https://johnfischer.bandcamp.com/album/still-life.