Blog 3547 – 07.21.2025

Making Amends

The old joke goes, “I am never wrong, I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.” As difficult as it is to see our mistakes that is not enough we must try to correct them and make amends for the damage those mistakes may have caused in the lives of others.

The Serenity Prayer is a favorite of the twelve-step program made famous by Alcoholic’s Anonymous. Step nine reads thusly:

It takes real courage to make amends, to change things for the better.

Often we are unaware of the mistakes that we have made or the wrongs that we have committed at the time. As a weak example, when I write these daily posts I read over them many times trying to find and correct the spelling, grammar and improve some of my words choices. Often after several read throughs I still fail to catch all of my mistakes. After years of working in the quality industry and a misspent youth in a fundamentalist “holiness” sect, I have come to believe that perfection is an impossible goal to achieve and that a far saner and more sustainable approach to life is the one the quality gurus called “the continuous improvement process” where we recognize a mistake, correct it, and if possible install a process improvement to prevent making that same mistake again.

I salute all those individuals who have made sobriety not just a pledge but a process change in their lives. Most everyone has struggled or is struggling with some form of addiction. And we have all made mistakes and committed wrongs requiring correction and making amends. May we exercise the courage to change the things that we can and be granted the wisdom to know the difference. Love, peace, and joy to all – Serenity.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David James White