It’s okay

These three lines from the song “It’s OK” by late singer/songwriter, Nightbirde, have been playing on loop in my head for the last 24 hours:

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay
If you’re lost, we’re all a little lost and it’s alright
It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay

I’ve always been hesitant to embrace the words “it’s okay” because it felt synonymous with saying: “You can stay stuck forever, no problem.”

When I heard these lyrics for the first time, it wasn’t resignation that I felt though — it was hope.

It occurred to me that describing a challenging situation as “okay” isn’t necessarily the same thing as endorsing the problem.

It’s about accepting that a problem exists today, that you are in the middle of it, and that you are doing your best to navigate through it.

It’s about meeting yourself where you are instead of putting yourself down for not being precisely where you think you should be in life.

Acknowledging that things are okay is one of the most useful things we can do for ourselves because it puts our harsh inner critic and the person navigating a challenging situation (you) on the same team.

It is easier to move forward when you allow yourself to get out of your own way.

So let it be okay.

It’s okay.

Listen to “It’s OK” by Nightbirde here.