“Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”

Having made a fearless moral inventory of everything I’ve held resentments toward, all the blaming and shaming my ego has ransacked regarding my peace of mind, I now I’m ready for Step 5.

Now I am ready to tell someone and my higher power, the list of perceived wrongs I outlined on my Step 4 list. Without other people, we see we live in a vacuum. We see we live in relationship to other people. Connection to self, others and higher power is the pathway out of self-centered preoccupation, to the realization that we are all connected, like the roots of a tree.

Addiction is the disease of perception. As I grow, I see all the trauma of the past as a mirage, and everyone is just doing the best they can.

My mother comes to mind. She was abandoned by her mother and placed in a Roman Catholic convent from ages 3 to 13, due to the divorce of her parents. Her abandonment issues rose out of the ashes to be grist for my own self growth. Her anger and defense mechanisms softened over time as she tuned into her own brand of spirituality.

Spiritual awakening opens us up to a second language, such as synchronicity and telepathy. Sharing my character defects, knowing that my life can and will change when my self-pity, self righteousness and rigidity softens, I know my hangups are mine to own. They will not disappear when I keep projecting my guilt onto others.

It’s not their fault. The world doesn’t need to change. It is my responsibility to remove my character defects and as I let them go, my whole life changes. OM