What’s odd about the inventory is that, for me, it was an admission that I had power in the world, power to hurt others, which I’d never acknowledged. Besides denying my responsibility, I’d also often denied that my words or actions could have any effect on anyone. So, even though what was revealed was painful and destructive, just admitting that I had hurt others was empowering. In fact, inventory is a review of the past karma. To pretend that our existence doesn’t affect others is to deny karma, to deny that every action has a reaction, to pretend that cause and effect aren’t constantly in play. This careful parsing of our past forces us to become more cognizant of karma. When we see how our actions hurt others-and ourselves-we become more careful about what we are doing in the present. When we see our destructive patterns of thought, speech, and behavior, we begin to change, to unravel these habits, to act in ways that won’t require more inventory writing.

One Breath at a Time…Kevin Griffin
Step 4

Sometimes I would like to think that I have no responsibility in how others feel when it comes to my thoughts, speech and behavior. We are told in the program that we are never victims and we are responsible for the way we feel and act...never the other person. There is a nice escape in that way of thinking. I can twist that to mean I am never a part of something wrong in my personal relationships. I happen to like doing inventories today. It helps me to see just what is mine and what’s not. It builds in me compassion for the person that I have walked over in my desire to get what I want. From that compassion I want to change my thoughts, speech and behaviors. I don’t like to cause pain and mistrust with the people that I love. So in doing this very humbling step I can take responsibility for myself and grow to be a better person.