Time To Be Unserious

Because seriously, who gives af.

The tension in my jaw and shoulders was unmatched.

The gut health issues I have been battling for years became unbearable.

My body was screaming while carrying the weight of my internal reality like an overpacked suitcase that had not been emptied in years.

I felt like I was fighting one thing after the next.

Healing was dragging me.

Adulting was dragging me.

Motherhood was dragging me.

And everything just felt so damn serious all the time.

But deep down, all I wanted to do was let loose. To belly laugh. To frolic. To flirt with life again. To not give a single solitary f*ck anymore.

So, I made a decision: I committed to practicing the art of nonchalance.

From the outside looking in, the nonchalant-ers looked like they slept peacefully, woke up unbothered, and didn’t spiral over the existential dread of being an adult these days.

And I wanted that.

So, I told myself: Activate your unserious side. Call her to the front.

I missed the version of myself who laughed until her stomach hurt.

The version who danced in the mirror.

Who didn’t carry sadness behind her eyes.

Who flowed through life with ease and audacity.

It became hard to ignore: I missed the shit out of myself.

To reconnect with her, I had to break up with seriousness. To stop bracing for impact all the time. To stop micromanaging my healing. To do the opposite of what I was used to doing.

And the prescription for breaking up with seriousness:

Play. Rest. Frolic.

Be silly.

Be weird.

Be me.

That decision–to come home to my authentic self–has saved me over and over again. The decision to stop shrinking and isolating?

It has led me to an uncertain, nonlinear, remarkable journey of soft rebellion.

The decision to come home turned into a new declaration:

It’s time to be selfish.

It’s time to be playful.

It’s time to be carefree.

It’s time to be unserious.

It’s time to be nonchalant.

It’s time to be unapologetic.

Joyfully, radically, and soulfully selfish.

Curiosity over Criticism

It was time to retire the inner critic which led me to curiosity.

Curious about who I was when no one was watching.

Curious about what was mine and what was inherited.

Curious about this new version of me emerging through the cracks.

Curious about how motherhood, womanhood, daughterhood, sisterhood, and healing were reshaping me.

In the moments with myself–between meditation and meals, between chaos and cackling–I became deeply curious about the woman I was becoming and reconnecting with.

The world around me was loud. Everyone had an opinion.

And my inner voice?

She started as a whisper. Gently. Patiently. Waiting for me to listen.

Then, she started hollering. Loudly. Nudging me through signs and reactions within my body.

The reparenting, the unlearning, the untangling of years of programming–it’s all there in my journals.

Some pages are tender. Some pages are sharp. Some feel like a heartbreak.

Others feel like a death and rebirth. But even in my darkest hours, I always found my way back.

To me.

Give Yourself a Break

If you have been holding your breath. Clenching your jaw. Fighting to “get it right” all the time…

Maybe it’s time to give yourself a break, too.

Not just a nap. Not just a bath. But a break from the version of you that thinks she has to hold it all together, all the time.

Let her rest, and let your unserious self take the mic for a while.

She is magic.

She is medicine.

She has been waiting for you all along and she deserves to HAVE A BALL!

What’s On Your Heart?

Here is a journal prompt to reflect on, if you feel called:

If you choose to embrace an unserious chapter of life, what would it feel like for you?

Leave a comment and share a whisper from your unserious season.

With love, laughter, and nonchalant audacity,

Amita