by Duncan McLeod | Sep 24, 2023 | Freedom
To be or not to be – Free? Autonomy Independence Emancipation Self-government Liberty Release Or Dependence Captivity Subjugation Enslavement Imprisonment So Peaceful vs Suffering On the world’s political stage, these are words denoting the state of play...
by Duncan McLeod | Sep 14, 2023 | Life Skills, Sobriety
What do I think is real? Does thinking it make it so? I accept that the chair I sit on is real because I can A) see and B) feel it. I experience both confirmation senses via my brain. I am used to relying on my brain to tell me what is and what is not, and like...
by Duncan McLeod | Sep 4, 2023 | life building,
Am I asleep right now? (Are you?) How could we be for I am writing and you are reading? Asleep is unconscious is unaware. Am I asleep? Maybe, but I am waking up. Sleep is that sublime place I adore drifting into at 9pm, and whence I emerge from 8 hours later,...
by Duncan McLeod | Aug 28, 2023 | Alcohol free, Grief, Life Skills
I see a rhythm and pattern reflected repeatedly across the universe. Expansion followed by contraction. I notice this rhythm in my lungs as I breathe and my heart as it pumps. My whole life, from conception to death, reflects this cadence as first, I expand...
by Duncan McLeod | Aug 27, 2023 | Life Skills
Cohabiting with uncertainty is a given. It is unavoidable. No one has a crystal ball. The future is unknown. Every moment, encounter, and situation has multiple variables. I can have a pretty good idea of what’s coming next, but I can’t be sure. So, one...
by Duncan McLeod | Aug 21, 2023 | Life Skills
My sober Life is an adventure of non-stop discovery. It is so exciting. It is like regularly finding a million quid stuffed down the back of the sofa and realizing it’s been there forever and it’s mine to use. I’ve started spending! I recently delved...
by Duncan McLeod | Jul 31, 2023 | life building,, Recovery
I have never felt comfortable with the following scripture: “Judge not, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1) It has always felt ‘off’, and I didn’t quite get it. Reminiscent of a school playground threat: “If you do that to...
by Duncan McLeod | Jul 18, 2023 | Alcohol free, life building,, Life Skills, Mental health
Contract: From the Latin: ‘Con’ = Together ‘Tract’ = Draw or pull. Contract = Drawn together. The contract aims to achieve an end goal by drawing together elements and exchanging resources. Buying; I give money and receive the thing. Marriage;...
by Duncan McLeod | Jul 13, 2023 | Failure
If I fail to fail, does that make me a failure? This question highlights an error of thinking. Doing or not doing something cannot change who I am. One is about activity, whilst the other is about my very being. I woke up this morning believing I was a failure....
by Duncan McLeod | Jul 4, 2023 | Alcohol free, Faith
If there is a spiritual dynamic to this world, and I ignore it, then I leave an ENORMOUS piece of the jigsaw out of the picture. Metaphor alert: If my car’s engine includes a spiritual cog, and I remove it, would it run as well? or even at all? Innumerable...