0:01

Welcome to bedtime

0:03

stories for everyone,

0:07

in which nothing much

0:09

happens, you

0:11

feel good, and

0:13

then you fall asleep.

0:17

I'm Catherine Nikolay. I

0:20

write and read everything

0:22

you hear on Nothing Much

0:24

Happens with

0:26

audio engineering by Bob Witttersheim.

0:31

Before we step into the village

0:33

to night, I'm excited

0:35

to tell you about something that I've

0:38

been working on for quite some time,

0:42

something created just

0:44

for you to bring a piece

0:46

of the village into your homes

0:50

and guide you into a healthy wind

0:52

down routine that will

0:54

feel so good.

0:58

This month, we are releasing

1:01

the Nothing Much Happens wind

1:03

Down Box, a

1:06

wellness box of hand selected

1:08

products that I personally

1:11

use and love, along

1:14

with a few exclusive stories

1:17

to round out your cozy routine.

1:22

Each box features products

1:24

specially selected for

1:26

your relaxation from

1:29

Everescio Wellness Chill

1:32

Now a high

1:34

potency organic certified

1:37

Raschi mushroom extract

1:40

to nutri Champs tart cherry gummies

1:42

great for sleep and reducing

1:45

inflammation and they daste great.

1:48

There's a lavender candle to

1:51

mark your moment of calm from our

1:53

favorite small batch candle makers,

1:56

Vella Box. A

1:58

meditative activity by

2:01

way of a Brighter Years mini

2:04

coloring book. It's

2:07

a fantastic way to disconnect

2:10

from your screen and tap into

2:12

your creative self before bad. There

2:16

are more mushrooms, this time in

2:18

chocolate specially

2:20

formulated for good sleep from

2:23

the lovely team behind Alice Mushrooms,

2:26

delicious essential oils

2:30

that were made to be rubbed on your wrists

2:32

and neck from my friends at

2:34

Woolsey's, and

2:36

of course a melatonin for those who

2:38

need an extra helping hand

2:41

to rest by way of

2:43

new strips. Place it on

2:45

your tongue and it dissolves in seconds.

2:50

Like everything in this village,

2:53

we took our time to create this

2:55

for you. That

2:57

is such a pleasure to be able to help

3:00

so many of you with what

3:03

I do, and I'm excited

3:05

to create comfort in

3:07

new ways with our first ever

3:10

wind down box. Head

3:13

over to Nothing Much Happens dot Com

3:16

for more information. Now

3:21

I have a story for you. By

3:25

giving your mind something to

3:27

follow along with, you

3:30

help to direct yourself towards

3:33

sleep and away from

3:35

the loop of worries and unfinished

3:37

business that can

3:39

keep us up at night. I'll

3:43

tell the story twice, and

3:45

I'll go a little slower the second

3:47

time through. If

3:50

you find that you are still awake

3:53

at the end of the second telling. Don't

3:56

worry. That is

3:58

sometimes how it goes.

4:02

Just start back at the beginning of the story

4:06

and walk yourself through the details

4:09

that you can remember. This

4:12

is a kind of brain training, and

4:15

every time you do it,

4:18

it will become a bit easier, and

4:21

falling quickly into RESTful

4:24

sleep will

4:26

be your natural response. Our

4:30

story tonight is called

4:33

Three Good Things, and

4:37

it's a story about reminding yourself

4:40

of some of the simple, happy

4:43

moments that happen during

4:45

the day. Sometimes

4:48

good stuff slips through our brains

4:52

without leaving much of a trace, while

4:56

scary, upsetting stuff gets stuck

4:58

in there. So

5:01

it helps to notice and

5:03

highlight sweetness when it shows

5:05

up, even

5:08

if that just amounts to us saying

5:11

to ourselves, oh,

5:14

that's nice.

5:20

Now it's

5:22

time to turn out the light, set

5:26

down your work, put

5:30

away your screens, slip

5:33

down deep into your covers,

5:37

and get as comfortable as you can.

5:42

Make all the adjustments you need to

5:46

till you find the right position, and

5:51

then take a slow, deep

5:53

breath in through the nose

5:59

and sigh from the mouth. Nice

6:06

one more, please breathe in and

6:12

out good.

6:21

Three good things all

6:26

the way. At the top of

6:29

my house, there's

6:31

a room just for me. It's

6:36

an office, certainly I

6:39

get work done there, but

6:42

it's also a place where I read,

6:45

where I listen to music, or

6:50

just am alone.

6:55

It's a few steps up and

6:57

around a corner from the floor

6:59

below, a

7:03

big open room with windows

7:05

facing the trees, and

7:08

wood floors with

7:11

a few worn rugs spread

7:13

out on them. I

7:17

have a desk and a bookshelf,

7:21

a small sofa and a lamp, a

7:25

little table for doing puzzles

7:27

or painting, and

7:30

lots of candles in

7:34

the corner, and a soft rug.

7:38

There is a cushion for meditation. Today

7:45

the house was already quiet,

7:49

a few windows open. On

7:52

a late spring afternoon. I

7:57

had made myself a cup of something

7:59

warm to drink and

8:02

climbed the stairs up

8:04

to my room. The

8:07

trees were budding, and

8:10

I stood at a window and

8:13

looked out for a while. I

8:17

sipped my drink and

8:20

watched a squirrel sitting

8:23

in the crook of a branch, her

8:27

tail flicking every now and then.

8:32

And I set my drink down

8:36

and checked a few of my potted

8:38

plants that I had

8:41

sitting on shelves, and

8:43

window sills, gave

8:48

the thirsty ones a drink, and

8:51

set to lighting the candles.

8:56

It took a few minutes. It

8:58

was a sort of ritual.

9:04

I liked the feeling of marking

9:07

a moment and

9:10

lighting a candle, or

9:13

turning on music, or

9:17

even just taking

9:19

a big breath. Felt

9:21

like that. I

9:25

hummed a bit, struck

9:28

a match, and

9:31

went from candle to candle until

9:35

the room had a soft

9:37

glow and felt

9:39

cozy and friendly. I

9:44

set my cup next to my meditation

9:47

cushion, sat

9:50

down and fidgeted around until

9:54

I figured out where my feet

9:57

and hips needed to settle in

10:00

order for me to be upright

10:03

and relaxed. I

10:07

had an old light blanket that

10:10

I pulled around my shoulders and

10:12

a bit of it over my head. I

10:18

wasn't cold, but it made

10:20

me feel safe

10:22

and focused. I

10:26

took a few slow breaths

10:31

and thought back over the past twenty

10:34

four hours. I

10:38

was looking for three good

10:42

things,

10:45

three sweet moments to relive

10:48

in my head. I

10:52

found that when I did this, I

10:56

reset my brain a bit and

11:00

seemed to notice more sweetness

11:03

in general everywhere I looked.

11:07

For a day or so afterward, in

11:12

the quiet of my mind, a

11:16

memory rose up in

11:21

bed. The night before,

11:25

my partner had rolled over in between

11:27

dreams and bumped a hand

11:30

along my arm without

11:34

waking. My sweetheart had

11:36

squeezed my wrist

11:39

and held on. I

11:43

felt a bloom of contentment

11:46

in my body and

11:50

listened as slow breathing

11:53

became a quiet snore.

11:58

I had smiled to myself in the

12:00

darkness and

12:03

gone immediately back to sleep.

12:08

I smiled to myself now wrapped

12:12

in my blanket, and

12:14

remembered how good it felt

12:18

to be touched by the person you love.

12:24

I breathed and sat still,

12:28

looking again for a good moment. That

12:33

morning, stepping

12:36

out into the fresh spring air with

12:39

my dogs, my

12:42

head looked up at the sky and

12:47

stood still for a minute

12:51

and just looked at the lines of color

12:54

as they spread and shifted

12:57

above me, pinks

13:00

and blues and

13:02

a few streaks of bright red. I

13:07

was awed and

13:09

let myself feel it. The

13:14

air smelled so clean that

13:18

breathing deep felt like medicine.

13:23

My dogs sniffed around and

13:27

chased through the grass, and

13:31

I had a feeling of simple joy

13:37

now on my cushion. I

13:40

remembered that feeling and

13:43

traced it back and forth in

13:46

my mind so

13:50

that those connections in my brain

13:54

would be well built and

13:56

lasting. One

14:00

more time, I

14:03

dipped into my memory for

14:05

something sweet

14:08

and thought of a visit i'd made

14:11

to a friend at lunch time. She

14:16

had a new baby, just

14:18

a few weeks old, and

14:23

I'd brought by a bag of groceries,

14:26

offered to hold her little girl

14:29

while she napped and showered. My

14:34

friend laid her in my arms

14:37

and snuck out of the room to

14:39

take care of herself for a bit. The

14:45

baby was so new that

14:48

sleep came easy to her, and

14:52

she quickly dropped off in

14:54

my arms. I

14:59

leaned back into the sofa

15:03

and rested her head under my chin.

15:08

The weight of her little body on

15:10

my chest had felt

15:13

so good that

15:15

it was like a drug in my system.

15:20

I was suddenly calm and

15:22

content. I

15:26

tipped my nose down to her head

15:30

and breathed in her smell. Sitting

15:36

in my little room, feeling

15:40

the afternoon light on my

15:42

face, I

15:45

remembered the

15:47

weight of the baby, the

15:51

colors of the sky, the

15:55

touch of my love. I

16:00

held it all in my mind and

16:04

just sat with it.

16:08

It filled in places

16:10

inside me where

16:12

things had been knocked out or lost.

16:18

I felt all unhappy

16:23

and quiet. Three

16:28

good things

16:34

all the way. At the

16:36

top of my house, there's

16:39

a room just

16:42

for me. It's

16:46

an office, certainly

16:50

I get work done there,

16:54

but it's also a place

16:57

where I read, where

17:00

I listen to music, or

17:04

just am alone.

17:11

It's a few steps up and

17:14

around a corner from

17:16

the floor below, a

17:21

big open room

17:24

with windows facing the trees

17:28

and wood floors. A

17:32

few worn rugs spread

17:35

out on them. I

17:39

have a desk and a bookshelf,

17:44

a small sofa and a lamp,

17:49

a little table for doing puzzles

17:52

or painting, and

17:55

lots of candles.

18:01

In the corner on a soft rug

18:05

there is a cushion for meditation.

18:12

To day, the house

18:14

was already quiet,

18:19

a few windows open. On

18:22

a late spring afternoon,

18:28

I'd made myself a cup of something

18:30

warm to drink and

18:34

climbed the stairs

18:36

up to my room. The

18:41

trees were budding, and

18:45

I stood at a window and

18:49

looked out for a while. I

18:53

sipped my drink and

18:57

watched a squirrel sitting

19:01

in the crook of a branch, her

19:06

tail flicking every

19:09

now and then. I

19:15

set my drink down and

19:18

checked the few potted plants

19:21

I had sitting on shelves

19:25

or window sills, gave

19:30

the thirsty ones a drink,

19:34

and set to lighting the candles.

19:39

It took a few minutes. It

19:43

was a sort of

19:45

ritual. I

19:48

liked the feeling of marking

19:52

a moment and

19:55

lighting a candle, or

19:58

turning on music, or

20:02

even just

20:05

taking a big breath. Felt

20:08

like that. I

20:13

hummed a bit, struck

20:16

a match, and

20:19

went from candle to candle until

20:24

the room had a soft glow and

20:28

felt cozy and

20:30

friendly. I

20:35

set my cup next

20:38

to my meditation cushion, sat

20:43

down and fidgeted

20:46

around until

20:49

I'd figured out where my feet

20:52

and hips needed to settle

20:57

in order for me to be upright

21:00

and relaxed. I

21:06

had an old light

21:08

blanket that

21:11

I pulled around my shoulders

21:16

a bit of it over my

21:18

head. I

21:23

wasn't cold, but

21:25

it made me feel safe

21:28

and focused. I

21:33

took a few slow

21:36

breaths and

21:38

thought back over

21:40

the past twenty four hours.

21:46

I was looking for three

21:49

good things,

21:54

three sweet moments to

21:58

relive in my head. I

22:03

found that when

22:05

I did this, I

22:08

reset my brain a bit and

22:13

seemed to notice more sweetness

22:17

in general everywhere

22:19

I looked. For

22:22

a day or two afterward,

22:29

in the quiet of my mind. A

22:33

memory rose up in

22:37

bed. The night before,

22:42

my partner rolled over in

22:45

between dreams and

22:48

bumped a hand along my arm

22:54

without waking. My

22:57

sweetheart had squeezed my

22:59

wrist and

23:01

held on. I

23:06

had felt a bloom of contentment

23:09

through my body and

23:14

listened. I slow breathing

23:18

became a quiet snore.

23:23

I had smiled to myself in

23:26

the darkness and

23:30

gone immediately back to sleep.

23:36

I smiled to myself, now wrapped

23:40

in my blanket, and

23:44

remembered how good it felt to

23:48

be touched by the person you love.

23:55

I breathed, sat

23:58

still, looking

24:01

again for

24:04

a good moment. That

24:08

morning, stepping

24:11

out into the fresh spring

24:14

air with my dogs,

24:19

I had looked up at the sky

24:25

it stood still for a moment, and

24:30

just looked at the lines

24:32

of color as

24:35

they spread and shifted above

24:37

me, pinks

24:40

and blues and

24:43

a few streaks of bright red.

24:50

I was awed and

24:52

let myself feel it. The

24:57

air smelled so clear

25:03

that breathing deep felt like

25:05

medicine.

25:10

My dog sniffed around and

25:14

chased through the grass. When

25:18

I had a feeling of simple joy

25:25

now on my cushion, I

25:28

remembered that feeling and

25:32

traced it back and

25:34

forth in my mind, so

25:39

that those connections in my

25:41

brain would

25:43

be well built and

25:46

lasting. One

25:51

more time, I dipped

25:53

into my memory for

25:56

something sweet and

25:59

thought of a visit i'd made

26:02

to a friend at lunchtime.

26:07

She had a new baby, just

26:11

a few weeks old, and

26:15

I'd brought by a bag of groceries

26:20

and offered to hold her little

26:22

girl while she

26:24

napped and showered. My

26:30

friend laid her in my arms and

26:34

snuck out of the room to

26:36

take care of herself for a bit.

26:43

The baby was so new that

26:46

sleep came easily to her,

26:50

and she quickly dropped off in

26:53

my arms. I

26:58

leaned back into

27:01

the sofa and

27:03

rested her head under

27:05

my chin. The

27:10

weight of her little body on my

27:13

chest had felt so

27:15

good that

27:18

it was like a drug in

27:21

my system.

27:26

I was suddenly calm,

27:30

content. I

27:33

tipped my nose down to her

27:35

head and

27:38

breathed in her smell. Sitting

27:44

in my little room,

27:48

feeling the afternoon light

27:51

on my face, I

27:55

remembered the

27:58

weight of the baby, the

28:02

colors of the sky, the

28:07

touch of my love. I

28:13

held it all in my mind and

28:16

just sat with it.

28:21

It filled in places

28:23

inside me where

28:27

things had been knocked out or

28:30

lost. I

28:33

felt whole, unhappy

28:38

and quiet. Sweet

28:43

dreams,