Join Joe McDonald as he reads from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, discussing the crucial role of forgiveness in Step 4. Joe emphasizes that forgiveness is for our own benefit, not for others, and highlights the challenges of owning our faults while disregarding others’ actions.

“And it may not be comfortable owning that, but forgiveness is not for them anyway. Forgiveness is for you. Does that make sense? Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely. That’s hard to do. That’s the other reason you want someone to help you, even if you don’t give them a title. To disregard the other person involved entirely when we have deep hurts is complex and probably impossible.”

Joe’s discussion sh ...