wordsworth

JT: This is July, of course. And all over town everybody is talking about the seventh step, right? So, last Saturday night, upon invitation, I went to the Maitland Beginner’s meeting to hear what they had to say on the subject of “shortcomings”. Big meeting. Familiar faces. But one fellow said something that I’d never heard and has since challenged the consciences of a couple other groups I’ve attended since. This fellow said one of his old time sponsors had convinced him of a difference between “character defects” and “shortcomings”, the former being the focus of step six, and the latter the focus of step seven. “Character defects”, he was told, are decisions to do the wrong thing, while “shortcomings” are decisions not to do the right thing, falling short of the good. Anyway, perhaps you’ve heard this before. And perhaps it isn’t “conference approved”. But it did seem to make sense of the two separate steps. So, you’re not reading through your step work with the guy who first “sponsored” you? Dad? He might be in the mood for doing “heavy lifting” with his first girl.
David