Hello!! I remember you posting about Silly Mode (or was it Goofy Mode?) on Instagram. What is the way of Silly Mode? I am trying to take life less seriously and enjoy it way more :) I would love to hear how you incorporate goofiness, love, happiness, etc. in daily life!
Hi there!
Oh man, I really love this question. Because as unserious as it sounds, it’s very serious to me.
The concept of “Silly Mode” started a couple of summers back when my band and I were on the road for a short Midwest run. I’m sure you’ve experienced a long travel day with friends or family where everyone gets in their own headspace while traveling (think everyone on their individual devices with headphones and/or sleeping). And when you get to your destination, you all need to break out of that zone.
As the band leader, the mode I want everyone to get into is a silly one. I want everyone to feel as carefree and as non-anxious as possible. It’s a hard ask in our current political and social climate, but on that tour, I started mandated silly mode. When we got to about 30 minutes away from the venue or even 30 minutes before performance time I would announce loudly that it was, “T-MINUS 30 MINUTES UNTIL SILLY MODE BEGINS”.
I’m in a lucky position that my band is comprised of best friends and they all quickly understood the assignment. Silly mode doesn't mean getting obnoxiously loud, taking shots like we’re cast members on Vanderpump Rules, or even being overly social to the sound dude we just met. It just means it’s time to focus in on being together and making some magic in the best way we know possible. And to me, the best way to make magic is to laugh with my friends.
Silliness has been instilled in me as a core concept of life since I was a kid. My parents are hilarious, imaginative goofballs. When I started dating, they told me that one of the most important things I could look for in a partner was whether or not they had the “silly gene.”
And yeah, I guess the core concept of silliness to me is that it’s just never that serious. And by that “that” I mean everything.
This is an accessible thought in the good times and I’ve experienced years and periods of my life in the past where being silly was the last thing on my mind, but it’s an attitude and thought I try and carry with me throughout the hard times too.
And of course, some things are very serious, but what I mean is that I keep the thought close to me that we’re not that far off from being a teeny teeny cell floating in the middle of nothingness. We’re the cat that exists inside the box and outside of the box at the same time. We only came here 65 million years after the dinosaurs got blown off the earth by a meteor, and that’s really no time at all.
Most every day, I just want to laugh. That’s the high I’m chasing. That’s what I feel like I’m meant to do. And some days and moments, it needs to be mandated, and that’s okay. I feel like the truest version of myself when I’m laughing. I’m the truest version of myself when I’m floating 10 inches off of the things that hurt me and my brain and really giving into the moment and spending 20 dollars on Touch Tunes to play cheesy 70s yacht rock hits and smiling as every single song starts.
I don’t think it’s an escape tactic or an avoidance tactic. I think it’s a way to feel like the best version of myself to me. I’m lucky to figure out what my nirvana is so early on in life.
So my advice to you, friend, is to find what the truest version of YOUR self is. Maybe that’s being silly and less serious but maybe it’s leaning into the serious side of yourself and reading theoretical physics articles and spending evenings discussing what gothic horror novels fit the best into the canon. I don’t know, but you do. I think once you figure out that truer version of yourself, things automatically become easier and the ultimate enjoyment of life follows.
You gotta figure out how to make magic the way YOU want to make magic - that’s the really good shit in this life.
Ps: I think the best Gothic Horror novel is “We’ve Have Always Lived in the Castle” By Shirley Jackson. But I also really love Frankenstein. Down to discuss
Xx Casey
Have you ever signed up for Dracula Daily? It’s an email that sends you all of Dracula in chronological order! So any day that something happens in the book, you get an email! If this sounds fun sign up soon. The story starts May 3rd, I think. It’s a great “real time” way to experience an epistolary novel. I did it a couple years ago and enjoyed it a lot! I’m also fully on board with silly mode! Thanks for sharing