264. A Year of OK Things

We started this show exactly one year ago when Nora’s therapist told her she needed to find the good things in life. We’ve now made 250 episodes filled with OK things, and today we celebrate all the good we’ve found together.

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

I’m Nora McInerny and It’s Going to Be Okay. 

One year ago, I started this show as a way to practice a little gratitude. I told myself we’d find one good thing to share with you all every day. And one year later, we have made more than 250 episodes of this show. That’s 250 okay things. 

I’ve said this podcast is a group project, and that’s true. A majority of those 250 episodes came from you all. 

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You shared stories about your kids: 

Susan: So my okay thing is this. Even in the chaotic world of airports and ERs, there are people who care about stressed out parents, little girls, and their lovies.

We all learned, together, there is power in looking for okay things. Once you start, you’ll start to see them in the smallest encounters. 

Sam: I heard the barista say to the other person behind the bar, Sam looks like a skater today. I need to tell you that I’m a 52 year old woman. I have a full head of white hair. But I had on a beanie cap and it made me so happy to think that this cool young barista thought that me, this old lady eating oatmeal, Looked kind of like a skater today.

And we’ve found okay things in our daily routines-

Leticia: I for sure have taken all those ordinary times for granted. How many times was love for me shown over a sink with a bag of pinto beans? More than I can count

Through making this show, I have also discovered that I am a bona fied bird lady. there are a lot of birds out there, and they all make me happy

NOra: You are so lucky to see California Condors. I feel so lucky. I feel so lucky.

And it turns out, many of you are bird people too. 

Sam: I noticed that the birds were already chirping at four o’clock in the morning while it was still dark out, the birds were already chirping and they were loud. It wasn’t just one bird. It was a lot of birds.

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As we’ve worked on this group project together, there’s been some other common themes. turns out, we like a good acronym. 

Dylan Marron: I’m out in the world, and we are starting an SOD walk

Amanda: This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. The acronym actually kind of looks like TIT, my buff on my wrist, but I love it.

Ralph: You’re good, you’re safe, you’re doing great. You’re good, you’re safe, you’re doing great. You’re good, you’re safe, you’re doing great. You’re good, you’re safe, you’re doing great. 

This started as an assignment from my therapist. This has now grown into something so much bigger. I could have written my own okay thing in a journal each day and kept it to myself. But by doing this together, we’re proving that the world isn’t that doom and gloom. there is beauty happening every single day for all of us. 

Thank you for contributing. Thank you for listening. We’re going to be okay. 

Sunsets don’t have to be beautiful for the sun to do its job. The bright full moon on a clear night doesn’t have to take our breath away. It’s just doing its moon thing. And rocks absolutely do not have to be shaped like hearts. But so many of them are, and they’re awaiting everywhere to show us that this universe is filled with love and care and connection. And that’s how I know. It’s going to be okay.

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