In writing out my inventory, I was already admitting to myself and G-d the exact nature of my wrongs. Sharing it with another person, (in this case it was my sponsor), served three functions – Confession, Clarification, and Connection.
* Confession – We’re only as sick as our secrets. The longer I held onto mine, the more they ate me up. Getting these things off my chest provided me with a release from the inner turmoil that I had been a prisoner to.
* Clarification – As honest and thorough as I may try to be, I'm only human. It was helpful to share my inventory with another person. My sponsor gave me feedback on things I didn't notice about myself. He also provided the reality check I needed. He helped me see my faulty thinking more clearly. I also learned more about my strengths - strengths that HE could see, but I couldn't up to that point. As I told him my story, certain patterns began to emerge. What character defects kept showing up? These are the things I want to move away from. What strengths kept showing up? These are the things I want to move toward.
* Connection – This is the Step that makes us feel connected with the human race. Once I finished sharing my inventory with my sponsor, I found that he actually still liked me! What a relief! My sponsor also shared some of his own experiences. I wasn't alone! I found that I just wasn't that good at being bad. I'm just an imperfect human being who did what I knew how to do best in order to survive in the world. Now I have a chance to stop doing the things that are no longer working for me, and practice doing things that will benefit myself and others.
