Tradition 5 · May 14

The Most Sordid Spot

Daily Traditions · May 14

How a group breaks it

A group breaks Tradition Five when it waits for the drunk to be delivered. Think of a group that once had members visiting the detox ward and the jail every week. Those members moved away or got tired, and nobody took their place. Now new people arrive only when a court or a program sends them, and the group has come to think that is simply how newcomers happen. No vote ended the outreach. It just stopped. The Big Book (p. 102) describes the opposite: "Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful. You should not hesitate to visit the most sordid spot on earth on such an errand." Sordid means filthy and miserable. That is where the drinker usually is, and a group sitting at its own door will never meet most of them. The Long Form puts the duty on the group itself, as one body (Big Book, p. 563): "Each Alcoholics Anonymous group ought to be a spiritual entity having but one primary purpose—that of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." Carrying is something you do on your feet. Test it tonight: ask your group who is going to the detox, the shelter or the jail this month, by name.

Sit with

A group that only waits for newcomers has stopped carrying the message. Who from my group is going out this month?

Grounded in: Big Book, p. 102 (Working With Others); long form, Tradition 5 (Big Book, p. 563).

Tradition 5

"Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 5 → Get the app →

← May 13Carry This Message Tradition 5All of May May 15 →Stop Preaching

Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).