Pamela Musoke (she/her/hers), Low Entropy Volunteer Writer
Today is March 12th, 2026. It has been a learning experience for me about myself. Or, more accurately, a culmination of experiences I’ve had over the weeks that I haven’t been able to process until today. And possibly, enough time has passed for me to remove myself from the funk I’ve steeped in for a long while. Anxieties have been ruling my mind, driving my actions, clouding my judgement. Looking back, I haven’t been in a good place, hindsight being 20/20 and all that. And what I have learned is that I need curiosity in its purest form, unbound and free to explore. It has become my mode of coping and resetting.
But I should probably start from the beginning, when I chose to write about why I don’t take life too seriously, thinking it would be a good idea to play with, given our current global climate. I had thoughts.
Most were the usual suspects—using humor during dark times, or how dark times left no space for humor, or the impropriety of using humor during dark times. Then I switched themes, deciding to be more contrary. Maybe most of us were taking life too seriously because life demanded it, and that was where I had to venture. I let it stew, unsure. And the more I let time pass, the more unsure I felt about being able to write anything of use or substance. Doubts were seeding, thanks to my reappearing anxieties. I was spiraling, feeling more like a failure for the things I’d failed to accomplish and regretting some of the choices I’d made, including taking on this assignment.
I was becoming my own worst critic.
Something needed to break.
Enter journaling cards. I think they have been one of the best things I have instituted to help manage times like these. Today, the ones I randomly drew helped me see something that made me pause and reflect in a way that was different. I looked at my past journal entries and realized how superficial they were, ignoring what I was feeling, and instead trying to manifest a joy I was supposed to be feeling.
“I have been luckier than most. I should be grateful. To feel anything else would be disrespectful.”
I felt guilt growing every time I had those thoughts.
Until today . . .
I can’t tell you why I asked myself this: What am I learning about myself? But the journaling cards led me here, and it felt like something was shaking off. A bit of the funk was peeling away, giving me the grace I needed to see. I was giving myself permission to be curious with no expectations, no agenda. I was letting my mind wander. I was observing myself, my past actions, thoughts and dreams, and inventorying what I was learning. And it brought me back to the idea of why I don’t take life too seriously. My perception of the last two words, too seriously, changed.
It wasn’t about humor. I started thinking about curiosity, what it meant to me in this instance. It felt freeing to have no expectations, no judgement about what I was learning about myself. I only had to acknowledge and meet myself where I was, to just be curious.
And it helped. I’m not saying it cured my bleakness, but it lifted the burden it came with, just a little.
And it felt good. Period.
So, as of today, until perceptions change with circumstances, not taking life too seriously means being curious without any expectations or judgement. I can explore my inner world with curiosity, and let my thoughts run free and unencumbered by my judgmental filter.
I’m making it part of my journaling practice, to do it more often to prevent spiraling into doom.
It was an interesting idea, whose meaning was not static. Perspectives shifted because of changing circumstances, at least for me. But I do wonder about you. What does the prompt invoke in your mind right now? And perhaps return in a week or two, or whenever you choose, and explore what has changed in meaning or feeling, considering your circumstances.
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Pamela has a public health background. She enjoys reading, creative writing, and watching psychological thrillers and mysteries, with the occasional comedy.