An Attitude of Gratitude Is an Action Word – Hal M.

About This Speaker Tape

A trumpet player in the New York dance band circuit Hal M. spent thirty-two years chasing the high of 'gracious living' before the booze turned into a necessity for survival. He describes the descent from social drinking to a hard-dependency in Warsaw Poland and the subsequent chaos of briefing CIA and NSA analysts while hiding bottles of liquor in an attaché case labeled 'Top Secret.' After a failed attempt at white-knuckle sobriety in San Francisco he hit a wall of boredom and resentment that only a psychiatrist's referral to AA could break.

Hal M. frames his recovery as a 'partnership with a Higher Power'—a junior partner role where he handles the possible while the Higher Power handles the impossible. He emphasizes a rigorous 'attitude of gratitude' as a shield against the old wreckage of fear and guilt arguing that misery is optional and that the only way to stay sober is to keep 'killing self' one day at a time.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Hal M. opens with gratitude and honors Clancy's 30 years of service.
• 4:50 Hal M. describes his early days as a trumpet player in New York City.
• 7:15 The transition from social drinking to addiction while stationed in Warsaw, Poland.
• 9:30 Laughter: Story about hiding booze in a 'Top Secret' attachu00e9 case during intelligence briefings.
• 12:40 Hal M. discusses the failure of his first attempt at sobriety in San Francisco.
• 16:20 The psychiatrist's diagnosis and Hal M.'s first meeting at East 90th Street in NYC.
• 18:10 Step 3: Discussion on the 'partnership with a Higher Power' and the 'action officer' role.
• 22:30 Hal M. explains the 'attitude of gratitude' and the 'roses and thorns' of reality.
• 26:10 The story of the 'gratitude list' dictated by his sponsor.
• 30:40 Discussion on 'killing self' and the bondage of self.
• 34:10 Advice for newcomers to stick to the first 164 pages of the Big Book.
• 37:00 Dick M. begins his share on gratitude as an action and the living presence of a Higher Power.