“In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper.” (Page 64, Big Book)
The ‘re’ of ‘resentment’ means not ‘again’ as in the oft-posited but quite incorrect misinterpretation of ‘resentment’ as ‘re-feeling’ but ‘in response to a stimulus, with intensive force’, so a resentment is really a strong emotional reaction to something.
Thus a resentment inventory is an inventory of situations in which I react strongly.
The ‘re-feeling’ theory suggests we should write only about things that have persisted for a long time, but, because of the distorting effects of memory, the longer ago it worse, the worse a piece of evidence it is to discover the mechanics of self.
Now, when it comes to forgiving people, of course, the old things have to be forgiven, but what must be recognised is that these old things in one’s memory have frankly very little to do with the facts. A bit a reframing is possible, but mostly the job is to issue an amnesty.
With recent, present, and ongoing resentments—things I’m reacting strongly to now—the data is fresher and less corrupted, and one can learn a lot about the demands of self and about one’s own cognitive failings from a review of the findings.
One needs just enough examples to provide a good, general picture.
And then the blanket dropping of demands and general amnesty removes all resentment, whatever the cause, fancied or real, present or past.