Step Eight: I have made a list of all cachers and caches I have harmed, and am willing to make amends to them all.
Memories of harm done... Those are never good ones. Looking backwards, we gain perspective - but only if we then turn ourselves forward and make a vigorous attempt to repair the harm we have done. In this task, with practice, we may perform with increasing skill, but never really finish. Because the more we have cached, the more we have interacted - whether we know it or not - with each other. Whether malice was intended or not, we end up sometimes hurting others - and so there become obstacles along our course to completing this step. Some obstacles are microscopic. Some are quite mountainous. Did I say I was going to cache with you, and then never did? How about my logs? Was I nice in them to the CO and to other loggers? Am I respectful of others at events? Do I categorize people and label them as "those" cachers? And MY list goes on. My fellow cacher, I beg you for forgiveness! This is the hardest step, I know. The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done to one another, we tend to resentfully focus on the wrongs he has done to us. But: lets not call the kettle black. Lets move on.
Fellow cacher: I ask for forgiveness. But note: forgiving changes the perspective. Forgetting loses the lesson. Let's say lesson learned, shake hands, and maybe even give a hug or two ... Only four more steps to go!