May 9

Writing our Fourth Step is one of the most Loving things we can do for ourselves. We are now ready for an Honest Self-Appraisal, only after we have taken the First Three Steps. Step Three prepares us for this vital Step; it Frees us from fear.

Our inventory must be Free of fear to be of any long-lasting effect. There's a Spiritual preparation for Step Four. With the help of our Sponsors and the God of Our Understanding, we sit down by ourselves, with pen and paper, and we begin to write.

We can write too little, but never write too much, we ask our Higher Power for Strength and Guidance. We ask our Higher Power that we can be as Honest as we can. Remember it's an inventory of OURSELVES.

As we write, the healing process takes place. Our Basic Text tells us that writing; " will unlock parts of our subconscious which remain hidden " that otherwise would be locked, unless we write. Our patterns, anger, resentments, fears and misconducts are written down, from as far back as we can remember We write about people, places and things that we interacted with. We write about our fears, real or imagined.

We write about our sexual behaviors and our motives as we saw them. We write how we've been affected by other's reactions or behaviors toward us.

The Fourth Step asks us to write a Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory. So, we write about our Assets as well as our Liabilities, we learn from both. We see the traits we want to keep, and the traits we don't need, in our new Lives.

As we write, we might want to Pray for Inspiration. As our fear subsides, our Faith increases, and we are given Courage. The Fourth Step calls for deeper level of Honesty and a deeper level of Surrender.

The Higher Power that was with us in the previous Steps, is still with us at this moment.