Returning to What Feels Real

In today’s episode of Outside the Script, Amanda explores the growing feeling that modern life has become increasingly artificial from screens and social media to food, productivity culture, overstimulation, and constant noise.

This is an honest conversation about craving a slower, softer, more natural way of living. Amanda shares reflections on nervous system healing, motherhood, boredom, nature, technology, seasonal living, and why so many people are longing to reconnect with what feels real again.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, exhausted by modern life, or drawn toward simplicity, nature, and intentional living… this episode is for you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, everybody. Welcome back. Happy Monday. Happy Moonday. Welcome back to Outside the Script, a podcast about freedom, family, healing, questioning the default path, and creating a life that actually feels good to live. I'm your host, Amanda Kukaroo. And today I want to talk about something I think that many of us feel or are feeling right now or do feel, even if you don't have the words for it, is uh I think a lot of us are create creating just like a more natural world in a world that feels increasingly artificial in many ways. Uh artificial food, artificial intelligence, artificial looks, artificial lights, artificial. It feels like almost everything. Constant screens, constant simulation, constant noise, constant, constant scrolling. And sometimes I just stop and think like, were humans actually meant to live like this? I mean, I do think that humans are very adaptable and capable, but the modern life can feel incredibly disconnected from the way our bodies, our minds, and our nervous system were designed to function. And I think one of the biggest things for me that I've been noticing is like the overstimulation um modern life, you know, brings and what you know how it feels in a lot of ways. And um, you know, and even just like thinkable, like for most of us, I I try not to do this. I can be guilty of it sometimes, like looking at my screen first thing in the morning. But that's like a habit I have really intentional about. But a lot of us wake up and the first thing we do is we look at our phones, we start hitting, you know, all the notifications, you know, checking the emails, looking at all the social media, you know, taking in all the noise, the opinions, the information, and there's no space anymore, no silence, no boredom, no stillness. And boredom used to be normal. And for me, the biggest saying I've always said to all three of my children is only boring people get bored. I think boredom is really important. So, like, say we're going on, you know, a little road trip or traveling, like my kids are never allowed to have any technology or anything in the car. And, you know, you know, a couple hours in, they're like, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored. I'm like, great, figure it out. You know, I'll make sure they pack like a bunch of things to keep them entertained, but like I don't let them have any um like technology or anything. I, you know, I I let them be bored, and I think it's important. And I I feel like now too, I it feels like every second of every day needs to be filled to the maximum. I even think of parents and their their schedules and all the sports and all the things that they do and just eating, you know, in the car and stuff, it just doesn't feel, you know, normal to me anyway. And I think that's like that type of stuff, it affects our nervous system, our attention spans, our creativity, and our ability to be so even our relationships with ourselves, because if we're consistently consumed and consistently distracted, consistently stimulated, when do we actually hear ourselves think? And I notice this especially with screens. And I have such a love-hate relationship with technology in a lot of ways, because on one hand, technology has created incredible opportunity, and I love, I'm like really actually quite obsessed with AI in a lot of ways and the opportunity it presents. I see the downfalls for sure. So, you know, I'm the in between with that too, and I get it, and I love it, like a love-hate thing, like I said, and I mean I'm literally rec recording a podcast right now because of technology. I've learned so much through the internet, it's opened doors for me. It's, you know, been, you know, opportunity for business and creativity and connection and all the things, but sometimes, and at the same time, I think that something does feel off in a lot of ways. And I don't think humans were meant to stare at screens all day. And I notice how different I feel when I spend too much time online versus spending time outside. Outside feels regulating, grounded, human. You know, I just left the beach with my children, and it was just so beautiful. And we found crabs and jellyfish, and they just felt so alive. And my seven-year-old said she had the best day, and like those are the things that I live for, and those are the things that feel really, really good. I do think so many people are creating like craving that again and want that again, and that simple life and nature again, and gardening, and herbalism, and camping, and farmers market, and homesteading, and ocean air, and ocean breeze, and barefoot walks, and slower mornings. And I don't think it's just like an aesthetic trend. I do think people are generally trying to reconnect with something real. I mean, look at even the homesteading movement and so many ways and how many people want to live, you know, off-grid because modern life can feel incredibly disconnected from this true human experience. Even the food has changed so much. So much of what is marketed, marketed to us is not even real food. It's engineered products designed to be addictive, convenient, and stuff shelf stable. And again, I'm not saying anyone has to be perfect, and I'm definitely not perfect, but I do think there's wisdom in returning to more whole food, more homemade meals, more connection and to where the food actually comes from. And I think that's where the wisdom in slowing down enough to cook, enough to gather, enough to eat together. Another thing I've been thinking about is like from like our own natural rhythms. Humans used to live much more seasonally. And I think I talked this up, I don't know if I talked about probably in one of the episodes, just about women is just in our cyclical nature. We're very cyclical by design. And there was rest for winter, there was more movement in summer, there were slower periods built into life naturally. But now everything is consistent, consistent productivity, consistent access, consistent work, consistent stimulation. There's no real switch off anymore. And I think a lot of people exhausted because of that. I think our bodies are our capacity and like what are we actually even holding right now? And I think a lot of people are waking up and realizing that that faster doesn't automatically mean better as well, and more doesn't automatically mean happier. Because success looks different for everybody, and success looks, I think, very different from what we have been taught. Because I think success is like peace and health and present and connection, a regulated nervous system in a life that feels really good to wake up to. And I don't think the answer is like completely just neglecting modern life, completely. I think it's becoming intentional inside of it, using technology without letting it consume us, using AI without outsourcing our voice, creating slower moments where we can just be in that moment, spending more time outside, cultivating true family connection, eating more real food, protecting our peace a little more, and just becoming a little more conscious about how we live. Because I think deep down a lot of us are recraving a return to what feels real. I really do. And I think, yeah, that's what I think. And I think it just that is what feels so real and alive. So I just needed to keep it short and simple, the way I like it. My children in the tub. I don't know if you could heard hear them. And yeah, I got here. I'm proud of myself. I got to my mic, and I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you so much for listening. If this episode resonates with you, I would love for you to keep on just following along and being care with me. And I would love for you to share with someone who's creating a slower, softer, more intentional way of living. And as always, I'll see you in the next episode. And I love you. Bye bye.