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I talked with my sponsor throughout the process of writing my eighth step, so that I could look at my amends, and willingness. For each of the amends I owe, we talked about how I could make things right. What kind of amends would best rectify the harm caused. For times when I was a poor friend, and there wasn't financial or physical harm caused, a sincere apology, and an ongoing process of thinking of others more, and myself less is about all I can do.
In my active addiction I harmed a lot of people that I don't know, as a thief, and a destroyer of property. (translation, I stole cars, parts, and got into barfights that usually ended with me breaking something on my to being 'invited' to leave). Where I can make financial amends, to business owners whose property I've broken, my sponsor suggested I be prepared to contact them and confess to what I had done, and offer to pay for, replace, or repair what I had broken.
In cases where I don't know who I harmed, or harmed those in the community, I'm trying to volunteer where I can, to give back to people who need help, and working on being prepared to make amends to the people I'm no longer in contact with as I find them in my life.
I made the list of my amends, and part of my process of becoming willing was to honestly look at what I could do to make things right. Seeing that there were often ways that I could help repair the damage I caused was a big part of my becoming willing to actually make amends.
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