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For anyone trying to overcome hard things.

I’m Rob Nunnery. I live with Crohn’s disease and a colostomy. I also play professional pickleball and write about what it’s like to build a life around a body that doesn’t always cooperate. This newsletter is where I process what’s hard, what’s working, and what I’m learning. On the court, in recovery, and in building Ostowear. Just lived-through reflection from someone figuring it out in public.

Featured Post

Stillness, Power, and a Snake Named Nagini

Hi there, Combining a couple days here... Yesterday’s reading was about a waterfall named Kansho and a pond named Yuima. Kansho roared with constant energy, while Yuima stayed still and calm. But they weren’t opposites. They were a system. The waterfall poured into the pond. The pond, in turn, replenished the waterfall. Constant movement. Constant rest. A cycle of renewal that only worked because they each knew their role. I’ve felt like the waterfall lately. On court every day in Mumbai,...

Hi there friend, Kanti the bird had it figured out. He found seeds and shared them. Found joy through song and passed that on too. In giving what he had. His food. His song. He didn’t lose anything. He just made more of it. That was the lesson in this morning's reading. Generosity isn’t complicated. It’s noticing what you have and offering it. A kind word. A bit of time. A moment of real attention. A smile. We all have something. We just forget to give it. I’m guilty of that. I’ll notice...

Hi friend, This morning’s story was about Luna, a little white rabbit who adored the moon. Every night, she watched it alone. When a dark cloud covered it, she leapt toward it again and again, even when it seemed hopeless. Eventually, the other animals saw her devotion and built a ramp to help. Together, they cleared the cloud. A story for kids. But today, it hit me more as a story for people who care deeply about things no one else sees right away. Who keep showing up even when there’s no...

Hey there, This morning’s story was about a monk who found a feather. He held onto it for years like it meant something. Then a storm came, washed it away, and he realized it never really did. That’s what stuck with me. How easy it is to place importance of something just because it’s been around. Whether it’s stuff, plans, or ideas. And how hard it can be to let it go, even when it’s clearly time. I’ve never been much for holding on to physical things. Clutter stresses me out. But I still...

Hi friend, Today’s read was about a rabbit named Tashi, terrified of the dark, who eventually builds up the nerve to ask a wise old owl named Klacki for help. The owl doesn’t give him a flashlight or teach him how to fight shadows. She just walks with him into the forest until his eyes adjust. That was it. The darkness didn’t change. He did, his perspective did. It reminded me that most of life doesn’t actually get “figured out.” The fog never fully lifts. You just build up your tolerance for...

Bag & Paddle | July 23–24The Sky’s Not the Limit. The Grind Is the Point. The last couple of days have been long, in a good way. I’ve been out at Yuvi's country house outside Mumbai, getting time in with the Global Sports crew. No clinics. No teaching. Just playing. A lot of sweat, a lot of humidity, and some good reps. The ball’s coming off the paddle clean. Timing’s starting to return. Sharpness is flickering back in. Not all the way there yet, but heading in the right direction. What I...

Hey friend, Woke up early at Soho House and hit the gym before sunrise. Shashank scooped me at 6:30 and we drove out to Yuvi's country house, where the Global Sports crew, players and partners, were gathering for some training and time together. It’s easy to forget how grounding these environments can be. Green hills, two private courts tucked into the mountains, and the kind of sticky humidity that makes you feel like you’ve wrung out three shirts by the third game. It did a number on my...

Hi there, since I'm a day behind I'm going to catch us up with a couple days worth of reading and travel updates. Part 1: The Outer Shell Saturday was great until it wasn't. Daytime pickleball for the pool play was great. Easy visibility, very hot, but I could see. Night session for the bracket play. Dim lights and long shadows made the ball vanish and reappear mid-flight like it was playing a mean joke. I simply couldn't track the ball at all. I could have lost to anyone. Later that evening,...

Hey friend, There’s a young monk named Shen who sees the sunset and feels sadness. He thinks only of the darkness coming next. I get it. Miss a drop. Lose a match. Doubt creeps in. Suddenly you’re not just having a bad moment, you are the bad moment. You are the guy who always messes this up. Who never figures it out. Who always loses the tight match. But Shen’s master asks a simple question: What comes after the darkness? Dawn. The story hits because it’s not just about failure. It’s about...

Hi friend, I read a story this morning that hit a little deeper than expected. It's about a young man in Sichuan Province named Li Wei, known for his work ethic but lacking in patience and compassion. In a dream, he stood on one side of a wide chasm. On the other side were people in pain. Children, the elderly, the sick. And there was no bridge. The old man from his village appeared and told him, “You already have all the tools you need.” The tools were compassion and understanding....