After an upsetting event the two words “It’s okay” can offer much comfort. I’ve been the recipient of this easement, both at times of true distress and more trivial troubles. I’ve found myself saying it to others when wordier expressions would fail. And although the situation may not have changed at all, in the most opportune moment “It’s okay” can be a strong bridge between one emotional state and another, it’s value being that it can be offered by closest loved ones and strangers alike.
What is the power of ‘It’s okay’? Such a tiny phrase that carries many meanings.
“It’s okay, I know how to fix this.”
“It’s okay, you know how to fix this”.
“It’s okay, this can’t be changed but you can live with it for a while”.
“It’s okay, I’ve had something similar happen to me and look, I survived”.
“It’s okay to feel this way, no matter how objectively small the problem may seem”.
“It’s okay, I love you, despite this”.
“It’s okay, you’re not tackling this alone”.
I hear ‘It’s okay’ in nature all around me. In the swish of my boots through crisp brown leaves, regulating my pulse as it matches steady footsteps. In the blackbird’s evening song at the end of the working day, stepping out of artificial light and into the crisp evening air before everything begins to fall quiet.
I hear ‘It’s okay’ when I temporarily let go of everything that isn’t in this moment and allow my attention to be led by the next beguiling distraction; The graceful whistle of a raven’s wing overhead, a detail on a poppy petal that opened that morning and will fall to the ground by tomorrow or a glassy eye of a cautious new solitary bee emerging from its nest.
I heard ‘it’s okay’ in the placing of muted coloured pressed flowers on cyanotype paper. Choosing them for the shapes I imagine they’ll create, the frame and form around the words. In finally finding enough light on a rare sunny day in this cold, dull winter where the picture will take. And I steal a little light for me too, reminding myself how it feels to close your eyes, head tilted up to the brightness of the sun.
When you learn to understand the language of the natural world, ‘It’s okay’ is sung in chorus all around. Sometimes life will be too devastating for the message get through but with honed listening skills, it becomes easier to tune in.