What if the most radical thing you could do for your mental health was also the most joyful?
In this episode, I'm making an evidence-backed case for whimsy! What it actually is, why society has spent decades making people feel small for having it, and why the science says we've had it completely backwards.
We're talking about the neuroscience of wonder and awe, what researchers at the University of Illinois discovered about playful people and stress, why your nervous system genuinely needs moments of softness and delight, and why none of this has anything to do with a Pinterest board or a linen pinafore.
I also dig into why the rise of cottagecore and fairycore aesthetics, as lovely as they are, have accidentally muddied the waters around what whimsy really means at its core, and why that core message is more urgently needed than ever.
Plus: simple, practical ways to bring more wonder into your everyday life. No flower crowns required (unless you want one of course!)
This episode is for you if you've ever felt embarrassed for finding magic in small things. For noticing too much. For being "a bit much." For never quite being able to take the world as seriously as everyone else seems to.
You're not the problem. You're paying attention.
✨ This episode also comes with a companion audio — a guided Mossvale story featuring Marmalade the fairy, set in the village of Brambleton.
The Wild Goddess is a podcast about folklore, enchantment, slow living and the quiet magic of paying attention. Hosted by Kayleigh Priest, founder of The Wild Goddess and the Mossvale fictional folklore world.
✨ If you love Mossvale, you can go deeper inside the membership community, home to walking meditations, the Storywood folklore library, and Marmalade's journal entries from the world itself. Find out more
🕯️ Or experience it through scent
Explore my Wild Goddess candles, each with its own story.
✨ Love the podcast?
Follow, share, or leave a review, it means more than you know.
📲 Find me on Instagram
@the.wildgoddess