Hazelden Store: Recovery Road Episode 211

"When I look at the Sixth Tradition, what I'm looking at is a very strong reminder that I don't need to be owned by stuff."

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Episode 211 -- April 21, 2022

Sobriety, Serenity, and Stuff: The Sixth Tradition

It can be easy to let materialistic things influence our lives. I mean, who wouldn't want financial abundance and be able to enjoy expensive things? But when we put too much importance on money, property and prestige, these things can overshadow the most important aspect of our lives—recovery. This applies to our individual lives as well as our Twelve Step groups, and it's why the Sixth Tradition says what it does: An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

In their book Living the Twelve Traditions in Today's World: Principles Before Personalities, Mel B. and Michael Fitzpatrick examine the history of the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and how each one remains relevant to Twelve Step recovery programs and the people who use them to stay sober and live well.

We might think the Sixth Tradition doesn't affect us, especially if we are not involved in our program's business affairs. But the heart of this tradition matters to each of us; it's all about keeping the focus of recovery on recovery alone. In this excerpt, a fellow AA member who carries the program's message to others shares how he uses the Sixth Tradition's wisdom to keep his integrity and pride in check. Wherever we are on our path, we can use this excerpt to remind us how even all the money in the world cannot buy the gifts of recovery.

This excerpt has been edited for brevity.

Historically speaking, the Sixth Tradition has probably been tested more than any other Tradition. Even today, AA is faced with potential problems from well-meaning members wanting to tie the AA name to some outside enterprise.

In 1950, this Tradition was presented to the fellowship in its current form—known today as the short form. The Tradition now simply reads: An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

AA groups often carry our message into institutions, which include hospitals, jails, and treatment centers. These are services provided by the AA groups. More often these services fall under the AA service structure. In most service areas, a "coordinator" is elected to the service position and accepts volunteers to participate in these special services. The Traditions allow for these relationships, provided that there is no affiliation.

In a recent interview, a longtime member, Tom I., who has dedicated much of his sober life in AA to working inside prisons, told the following stories as a commentary on the Sixth Tradition.

While all of the Traditions over the years have come to have more and more meaning for me, that's certainly true of Six. When I first started looking at that Tradition and appreciate the value of the Traditions, that one was illusive because it sounded like it was dealing at corporate level. It was like it was going to regard the purchasing of buildings, and it certainly includes that, but that is not the heart of it to me. And as I got to really looking at that and understanding it, from my perspective what I saw was its extremely valuable personal principle. Not everybody has seen or had the experience of seeing what it's like to be owned by what you own. So it's true of money, property, prestige, or anything that starts to own me; mentally, physically, spiritually is an enemy. When I look at the Sixth Tradition, what I'm looking at is a very strong reminder that I don't need to be owned by stuff. And I don't have to have stuff.

I can give a couple of examples. I was down in Texas a little while back, as I seem to be a lot. This took place out in the woods, where I saw there was a guy. I couldn't tell it was a guy, but also sitting there was a beautiful Jaguar, just an absolutely beautiful machine.

When I began looking it over, I realized he had a vanity plate on the front that said, "Step Nine." I was intrigued by that. So I tracked down the cowboy and asked him if that was his car. He proudly said, "Yeah, yeah that's mine, it's a really great car." I said, "I bet it is. Tell me about that vanity plate that you have on the front of it." He replied, "Oh I'm glad you noticed, that is just expressing my appreciation for what's been given to me, and that Jag is among those things. It really represents what the amends process is about because that's really making amends to me." I said, "Well, that's an interesting concept, but I'm afraid that for me it has little to do with Step Nine when I'm looking at what I have."

My purpose in making amends is to straighten out my relationship with the world around me. So I said, "For me, you may call it whatever you want to, but I see it as just sort of an expression of the fact that you've got some bucks. You know that you can afford to buy a car and that's nothing to do with amends that I can see." It was one thing, that Jag had become so dominant in his thinking that he related it to the amends process. An amends is anything but amending to myself. It deals with the Sixth Tradition because it's about allowing money, property, and prestige to become my god. They become where my heart is—in those things. And it can just absolutely do a lot of damage.

Then I had another experience right here in my area; the town adjacent to us is a pretty affluent community. One night, we got a Twelve Step call from a man . . . [whom] I knew somewhat. He was a real "captain of industry" in an international corporation. He was really a "big bucks" guy! I knew from the address that he lived in a neighborhood called Millionaire's Row. We went over there; I took a new guy with me. When we rang the bell, the guy came to the door in a smoking jacket. I had never seen one in real life, only in the movies. He had his music system going; "Old Blue Eyes" was singing. He said, "Want me to turn it off?" I replied, "Nah, let it finish the song—I like that guy."

He said, "Would you like me to tell you about myself?" And I said, "That would be interesting, why don't you do that." So he began to talk, and eventually he said, "This is not the first time that I've tried to get sober. I've done a lot of stuff. I've talked to everybody in the United States and other countries who think they know anything about alcoholism. Every expert I can possibly conceive of. I've been in every kind of treatment center that you can imagine.

"I just got out of one that ripped me off for thirty thousand dollars." I said, "Well that's pretty expensive," and I let him continue. He followed by saying, "The last person... [who] made a call on me like you guys are doing ripped me off for thirty thousand dollars." He took a deep breath and said, "Now what do you suppose you can tell me that I don't already know?"

And I said, "Well, probably nothing. But there is one thing that I want you to know. Be sure to understand that this fellow and I wouldn't sell you thirty minutes of our time doing what we're doing for thirty thousand dollars, because you just can't buy it!" That old boy melted. He absolutely melted, and he never had another drink. He stayed sober for eleven years and died sober.

What I'm talking about is, when you get the money, the property, and the prestige and allow these things to overshadow what your recovery is about, you pay for it. You pay for it with your life!

Each member certainly may have a slightly different take on this Tradition, and that is encouraged, of course. Nevertheless, the Sixth Tradition is designed to remind the groups that they need to guard themselves from these temptations.

Some people believe that after seventy-five years of success AA shouldn't worry about the idea of affiliating with anyone. They claim AA is strong enough to withstand any potential fallout brought about by a relationship with an outside entity. Perhaps their claim is accurate that AA as a whole is strong enough to handle these types of relationships, but is the individual member?

Once members are lured into the illusion that capitalizing on the AA name for their own personal benefit is acceptable, they may begin to isolate themselves from other members. This disassociation and lack of unity often leads the alcoholic into trouble. Clearly, cooperation and not affiliation will guide AA successfully forward.

About the Author:
Mel B., a resident of Toledo, Ohio, since 1972, is a writer specializing in recovery, timely business topics, speeches, publicity, and military history. Retired since 1986, he served in public relations for a major corporation headquartered in Toledo.

Michael Fitzpatrick is coauthor, with William G. Borchert, of 1000 Years of Sobriety and is one of the leading historians and speakers in the field of alcoholism, specializing in the development of the Twelve Step movement.