This Week's Mindful Morsel 🍪 | July 2, 2025 — Why we need some silly
Happy good Wednesday to you 💜
What would happen if you didn’t take yourself so seriously?
This question popped up for me during my morning yoga practice today, and honestly, I don’t really think I’m all that serious during yoga. But I do know that I take myself too seriously in life sometimes.
We’re living in times that require a sense of gravity and focus, and it feels like that’s all we can afford to be. We’re supposed to be serious at work to get the job done, and serious at home to get the things done, and serious about all the social issues. Sure. Let’s be serious about those things.
And we would benefit from getting down with some silly to balance out these extremes. But first we need to reconnect with our grander sense of playfulness and wonder. I’m sure many of us can relate to losing touch with fun and silliness in response to “trying to hold it all together.” Because silly feels a little useless in those situations. Except it’s not.
I was reading an interview with Dallas Goldtooth this morning about how humor is necessary in social and political activism because while anger is useful, “it also has its obstacles. It sets up walls.” So if we only rely on our anger (or seriousness) to create change in our lives and the world, we’re also creating additional challenges, to which play and silly and humor are antidotes. We need laughter. Silly. Humor. Because those things create levity and provide some autonomy in times when we might feel like little is within our control.
So can we notice when we’re being too serious when the situation really isn’t that serious? Is a sinkful of dishes so urgent? Every task on that to do list? Being a few minutes behind schedule? Can we loosen how we’ve entangled the ideas of seriousness and control? Seriousness and worthiness? None of these are the same thing.
Where can you open yourself to more humor and silliness? Share what makes you giggle (especially if it’s a corny joke or videos of billy goats — they get me every time) and let yourself loose in genuine belly laughs. And then laugh some more because bodies are squishy and weird 😉
With good energy,