The tricky thing about doing a personal inventory and spotting our faults and wrongs is that we’re liable to do it mercilessly.

We are, after all, adult children of alcoholics. The way an adult child of alcoholics approaches the process of a personal inventory is to rip himself or herself to shreds, as if it were an invitation to self-gutting, an opportunity to insult ourselves, really use all of our black-and-white thinking skills to see only the worst in ourselves.

Balance, the grey area of life (most of life!), doesn’t come easily to us. We’re used to black and white thinking. Ain’t it easy, too.

This is the beginning of a wonderful discussion of balance in the 4th step of 12 Step Fellowships.

Related Reading:

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous: The Basic Text for The Augustine Fellowship
Faith: A Novel
High Sobriety: My Year Without Booze
After the Tears: Helping Adult Children of Alcoholics Heal Their Childhood Trauma