🐥The Paradox of Now #36

Pixelated FaceTime’s with Friends

My friends rang me on the weekend whilst watching Lewis Capaldi. I could barely hear a thing, just them screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs on a very pixelated screen.

Amongst the chaos and rapture of it all, they took a moment to FaceTime me.

It took me off guard and made me feel quite emotional.

I take my friends and family for granted sometimes and maybe we all do.

A reminder to myself more than anything to appreciate the amazing people we get to exist alongside in these 920 months.

Now let me give you a taste of what's coming:

🐥 The new guy in the podcasting industry
🐥 Should heroes wear capes?
🐥 Your thoughts on the colour navy

🥚Eggstra News🥚

Your weekly dose of some fascinating and fun finds:

🎙️ Elliot Bewick – I’d bet big on this guy becoming the next breakout podcast voice. Watch this space

📚 Etymologynerd – If you like hearing where words come from, this is your delightfully weird rabbit hole

🌤️ i.vebeenthinking – Beautifully written posts and soft, reflective visuals. One of my faves online.

The Paradox of Now

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Who are your heroes?

Picture this: you’re on a work team-bonding day. All expenses paid. They’ve got high ropes, kayaking, orienteering, rounders, football, touch rugby. Classic “build rapport” activities. And by luck (or fate) the CEO of your company is put on your team.

This guy is respected. Idolised. He’s the Tiger Woods of your industry and you hang onto his every word as if it’s gospel. You fear him and want to impress him at the same time. He seems superhuman.

Untouchable.

You’re paired with him for raft building. He’s brilliant. He ties knots perfectly, organises every log, the whole thing comes together like art. You think: is there anything this man can’t do?

The raft goes in the water. Success. It floats. You’re both sitting smug, enjoying the smooth sailing.

Then disaster strikes.

A section breaks loose. The whole raft collapses in seconds. You’re laughing at the absurdity.

He isn’t.

Panic flashes across his face. He flails in his life jacket, doggy paddling like a child just trying to survive.

And in that moment, you see him properly for the first time. Human. Fallible. Not a god, not a hero. Just a man who cannot swim very well. And the realisation hits:

The truth is we all have chinks in our armour. Even the CEOs you fear looks ridiculous when in a life jacket and having to doggy paddle.

And everyone has their own “doggy paddle CEO moment.”

Your idols are more average than you think.

They still fall asleep facing the wall because they’re scared of the open space. They still run up the stairs at night because of the imaginary person chasing them. They leave skid marks, use frayed toothbrushes, pick their noses in private, and keep empty water bottles in their car for months. They don’t pick up their dog’s mess when on a walk, take painkillers for headaches they’ve ignored for months, and wear outdated glasses because they don’t want to admit they’re ageing.

The list could go on.

Whenever I want to reframe meeting someone ‘powerful’, I imagine them chopping onions. Most people are terrible at cooking, and that small reminder brings them back down to earth.

Same as picturing the CEO doggy paddling or an elite athlete licking a yoghurt lid. It’s not about mocking them, it’s about humanising them.

Because yes, maybe they know more about the thing that brings you both together in the same room, but they still have faults. They still cry themselves to sleep. They still have children who make bad choices, or marriages that feel loveless.

We are all human. Sometimes people forget that.

Let others lose themselves in power, gossip, or the love of the meaningless. Because at the end, on their deathbed, they will feel the same fears and regrets we all do.

Better to be the person who dies human. Who lived honestly, worked out who they were, and didn’t let fear dictate their life.

So the next time you feel small, picture your hero failing at something simple. Not to boost your ego, but to remind yourself that we’re all human.

And we all share the same fate.

🐥 Haiku’s Haiku 🐥

Haiku paying homage to one of the greatest garden or beach games to play with friends - KUBB.

If you know you know.

If you don’t know then we advise that you get to know.

You now have no excuses not to know.

You know?

🌴 Palm Tree Euphoria 🌴

Navy has yet to sneak into my frequent wardrobe rotation, but apparently once you have kids it becomes inevitable.

At a friend’s house recently, I even discovered the existence of a navy wash. An entire laundry cycle dedicated to navy clothes.

Unusual sight. But maybe I’m just too easily fascinated by novelty.

See you next week Dashing Ducks! 🐥

P.S. if this colourful little musing tickled you, forward it to a fellow duckling who secretly runs a navy wash of their own.

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