🐥The Paradox of Now #33

Whittle Spoons, Not Thumbs!

Shwmae Dashing Ducks!

What a week it has been.

From whittling the top of my thumb off and ending up in minor injuries, to winning four medals at the inaugural pickleball Welsh Open, appearing on the news, becoming a stick insect’s adopted father, and everything else in between… I can never complain that life is boring!

I went into this weekend with nothing to lose, as I was a few millimetres away from losing most of my thumb, needing stitches and unable to play at all.

Add in a few realisations outside of pickleball and I suddenly felt free, lighter and fully present.

For the first time in months, I had no doubt in who I was and found flow state on the court.

And I’m slowly starting to understand what helps me get there and how this translates to other parts of life too.

I’m sure these ideas will be shared as this journey continues.

Cool, now let me give you a taste of what's coming:

🐥 A frisbee game that looks too fun not to try
🐥 Extremely average to bad art abilities
🐥 Takes on toilet seats

🥚Eggstra News🥚

Your weekly dose of some fascinating and fun finds:

🥏 Kan Jam – Haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like elite-level fun with mates. On my list for the next park day

🧪Creatine – most studied and research supplement that all may benefit from taking

🍳 Cookin’ Somethin’ – Matty Matheson’s unhinged YouTube series continues. Chaos in the kitchen

The Paradox of Now

I’m on the following social media channels:

• Instagram - The Paradox of Now

• LinkedIn - Scott Mayo

Want to feature here? Message me on socials and let’s see what we can do.

Some Extremely Average Art

In last week’s newsletter, I spoke about how Haiku was my greatest accidental mess. A strange combination of things I never thought would fit, yet somehow they did.

Recently, it happened again. I found myself putting in hours on something I didn’t really understand, where the pieces didn’t quite line up, but I couldn’t stop.

About four months ago, I decided I wanted to create something outside of the newsletter. Something people could buy, but also something for myself.

A little step toward a personal brand. I landed on framed artwork, with Haiku at the centre.

Here’s the problem. I’m no artist. I love art, but I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at what most people would call “conventional.”

But I am a creative… (and now I will go and be sick in my mouth for saying a line such as that).

But what I am trying to say is that I need outlets.

Which reminds me of the time I made candles at the Manor House with the most creative person I know, Cam.

They were awful. But also the most loved designs in the room. The 65-year-olds couldn’t get enough of it. Kids pointed and gasped at our monstrosities.

But somehow hotdog and chicken drumstick candles were a hit!

It taught me that even the opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea and these are often the ones that capture attention.

And sometimes, that’s enough.

The candles gave me the same feeling as this framed art project and so I threw myself into it. Weekends vanished as I tested different designs, frames, sizes, back and forth, again and again.

People who “make it” often say they wish they’d kept evidence of their hard work. Because once success arrives, others are quick to dismiss it as “luck.”

But if you leave breadcrumbs, or in my case LEGO ducks and Canva designs, you end up with stacks of proof that you worked and grafted when the sun was out and everyone else was drinking.

Then you get to say: no, this wasn’t luck.

This was planned happenstance.

This was me creating my own luck.

I’m saying this not from a place of “having made it” but from deep in the the trenches. The evidence is here, week after week in the newsletter, across social media, and in the countless iterations still buried on Canva and in my journals.

But with no real evidence of coming out the other end yet… if ever at all.

So yes, I made those framed pieces of artwork. I even set up an Etsy account. I just haven’t quite put it out into the world yet for others to bare witness.

But even so, the hours of trial and error left me with something I now proudly place in my room.

Is it art? Who knows. But I love it. It’s my reminder. Out of all the messy, complex designs I tried, I ended up with something so simple. And simple is often the thing we return to.

For the record, I am no grifter.

These are things I’d buy.

The same goes for the merchandise I’ve designed. I wear it every day because I like it. Right now, none of it is for sale. I’m not sure if anyone here would even want to spend their hard-earned money on it.

But maybe I’d be curious to know.

Which brings me to the point. As captain of the Welsh pickleball team (is that the point Scott or is that just a humble brag?), I wanted to give my players a gift. Something that marked their time representing our nation at a European Championship.

Something their grandchildren might one day point at on the mantlepiece and spark a conversation or memory nearly forgotten in the ether of time. A moment to reminisce and remind the grandchildren that they were once young and cool too.

Priceless.

But in this moment, I had no clue what to get them. Then my mum, Hazel, pointed at the leftover frames from my abandoned project.

Within twenty minutes I had mocked up a design, ordered Roman LEGO soldiers from eBay (the Championships are in Rome, so it fit perfectly), and the gift came together.

From idea to finished product, it took half an hour. But really, it took months. The countless failures, the trips to Hobbycraft, the fingernails ruined on frame-backs (it really does seem as though I am just self-sabotaging at this point). All of that was the real work. All of that made the final version easy.

Hindsight is funny like that. And if Haiku had a brother, maybe he’d be called that.

And so the lesson here is simple. If you are enjoying the process, if what you are doing nudges you away from where you currently are, then it is worth it.

It’s strange the things you stumble into and slowly become okay at. So keep chasing the trivial. Keep following your nose.

Follow those low-stakes flow states wherever they take you.

Because you never know where they’ll lead.

For me, it led to the opportunity to be the captain of my country at a European Championships next week… and making some truly average art for my team.

Maybe they’ll gather dust in an attic if they’re lucky, though more likely their fate lies in a black bag.

But it’s the thought that counts, right? 

🐥 Haiku’s Haiku 🐥

Haiku was one big sniff away from being hoovered up this man’s nostrils a few weeks back.

I had to move him quickly. He looked like he’d sniffed worse things than a LEGO duck in his time.

🌴 Palm Tree Euphoria 🌴

Whatever happened to decorative toilet seats?

Fish in resin. Glitter. Fake flowers. Pure chaos on a hinge.

Now it’s all plain white and boring. Bring back the bizarre.

Make toilets fun again!

See you next week Dashing Ducks! 🐥

P.S. if this bathroom nostalgia made you laugh, forward it to a fellow duckling who’d proudly sit on glitter.

Word of beak is how we help improve our small corner of the world.

PLUS… Doing so gets you a FREE gift!