It was a nice night here in Dayton, a bit cool, but I still rode the bike to the meeting. There were 14 of us. One of our long time members who had cancer, Bob P., died this week. He was Buddhist, a quiet guy, soft spoken, very serene. He is missed.

Step Ten - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

This was a good meeting for me. All but one of us had double digit sobriety, and Bill has 5 years. Ann opened the meeting and spoke about all the standard step 10 stuff. Briefly, there are 3 kinds of 10th steps, the spot check inventory, the daily inventory, and an occasional look at how we have done for a longer period of time. Many people, like me, do an annual inventory. The end of day inventory is part of our evening program, and we can always have some gratitude, even if it is just for staying sober that day.

The meeting really focused on the spot check inventories and how we use this step in daily living. People shared about needing to go here when we are challenged by situations, when we begin to feel angry, jealous, fearful, and so on. Many shared personal experiences from the recent past, even things that happened today.

Restraint of tongue and pen was stressed, and restraint of e-mail was also mentioned. This is the challenge, to recognize and stop our behaviors before we take actions we regret later. Step 10 lets us look inside when we are upset, and settle the disturbance. Then, we may take reasoned and appropriate action if indicated.

Also discussed was how we can set things right if we have gone too far. Most examples were about words said in anger, at home or work. This step lets us go to the person and apologize, freeing ourselves of guilt and repairing the relationship.

This is a lifelong endeavor, and something timely to discuss for me, as I have some challenges now at work. But judging by the folks I've met in AA, this step works very well, and lets us get along without all the turmoil we used to cause. Of course, here on XPT, we joke around and cut on each other, but no real harm is going to come from posts on a wide open porn board, I hope.

Next week, Step 11. Keep Comin' Back!

-Chuck, Vegetarian fanboy