Candlewalk

Speaker 1 Get more, nothing much happens with bonus episodes, extra long stories, and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love. Subscribe now.

Speaker 1 If you already listen to me, then you know bedtime stories can be powerful tools for rest.

Speaker 1 But sometimes, what you need isn't a story, maybe it's something a little different, and that's where sleep magic comes in.

Speaker 1 Sleep magic is a sleep hypnosis podcast hosted by hypnotherapist Jessica Porter.

Speaker 1 Instead of storytelling, Jessica uses a hypnotic voice that gradually slows down, weaving in gentle suggestions to help your mind let go. It's designed so that by the end,

Speaker 1 you're not just calmer, You're already asleep.

Speaker 1 And what's unique is that she doesn't only talk about sleep. Jessica threads in themes like dealing with heartbreak, easing anxiety, and building confidence.

Speaker 1 So the work you do while drifting off actually carries into your waking life. There are more than 300 episodes, and listeners call the show life-changing and a real gift.

Speaker 1 Over 5 million people have tuned in. And I can see why.

Speaker 1 So if you're curious to try a different approach, one that complements what what you already get here, subscribe to Sleep Magic, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 1 Just search Sleep Magic and start listening for free today.

Speaker 1 Some mornings I wake up knowing I've got a full day ahead of me. Projects, calls, lots of writing and planning.
And instead of letting it overwhelm me, I take a breath and say my favorite mantra.

Speaker 1 First this, then that.

Speaker 1 Brain Edge from Nature's Sunshine has become part of that ritual.

Speaker 1 It's a plant-powered drink mix that combines hand-harvested yerba mate with powerful nootropics to support focus, memory, and cognitive performance without the crash.

Speaker 1 What I like is how steady it feels. The nootropic botanicals enhance focus and clarity.
so I can stay with the task in front of me.

Speaker 1 Ingredients like bacopa and ginkgo support memory and learning, which I notice most when I'm writing or outlining, and the yerba mate gives smooth, sustained energy that helps me feel capable and clear-headed.

Speaker 1 I also love that the yerba mate is wild harvested by indigenous communities in the South American rainforest, and that nature's sunshine has been sourcing high-quality ingredients for over 50 years.

Speaker 1 It fits right into my wellness routine, hot or iced. Don't fight through feeling foggy and lethargic.
Ignite your mental performance with brain edge.

Speaker 1 Nature Sunshine is offering 20% off your first order plus free shipping. Go to naturesunshine.com and use the code NothingMuch at checkout.
That's code NothingMuch at naturesunshine.com

Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone

Speaker 1 in which nothing much much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good

Speaker 1 and then you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read

Speaker 1 all the stories you hear on Nothing Much Happens

Speaker 1 with Audio Engineering by Bob Wittersheim.

Speaker 1 We give to a different charity each week. And this week we are giving to my sister Susan's house, serving Greensboro's youth since 1971, and giving them help today and hope for tomorrow.

Speaker 1 Learn more about them in our show notes.

Speaker 1 If you are hearing this in December of 2025,

Speaker 1 we have a special gift for those of you who've been eyeing the premium subscription. Join or gift it now, and you'll get the first two months for free.

Speaker 1 Click subscribe in Spotify or Apple or go to nothingmuchhappens.com.

Speaker 1 Now let me take a moment to explain how this works. Quiet nights are actually a pretty new thing.

Speaker 1 For most of human history, people drifted off beside the sounds of a fire, the soft movements and murmurs of others nearby, and the natural hush of the world outside.

Speaker 1 Those sounds meant safety, warmth, and company, which is why a calm voice and a simple story can ease you toward sleep.

Speaker 1 The more often you listen, the more your body learns to follow that path back to rest.

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice, and I'll go a little bit slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 And if you find yourself awake later on, feel free to just start the episode over again.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Candle Walk.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about a special holiday tradition in downtown nothing much.

Speaker 1 It's also about tea lights and snow shovels, Christmas cookies and cocoa keeping warm in a thermos.

Speaker 1 A smiley face on a sticky note, voices in harmony, and a winding, forgotten alley where light begins to shine.

Speaker 1 So, lights out, campers. It's time.

Speaker 1 Snuggle down and get as comfortable as you can.

Speaker 1 I know I'm just a stranger on the internet.

Speaker 1 But I hope you can feel how earnestly I care about your rest,

Speaker 1 that you feel safe

Speaker 1 and at ease.

Speaker 1 So, let my voice be like a guardian. I'll take the next watch.

Speaker 1 You let go.

Speaker 1 Take a deep breath in through your nose

Speaker 1 and sigh from your mouth.

Speaker 1 One more time, breathe in

Speaker 1 and out.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 Candle Walk

Speaker 1 I had a hand-drawn map in the pocket of my coat

Speaker 1 and a red wagon beside me full of supplies.

Speaker 1 It wasn't dark yet,

Speaker 1 but in another quarter of an hour, the deep blue of the sky would shift to purple

Speaker 1 and then to the bottomless midnight black of night in the heart of winter.

Speaker 1 As I pulled the cart, it jostled over the cracks in the sidewalk,

Speaker 1 and the jars inside clinked in rhythm with my steps.

Speaker 1 I stopped to check the map

Speaker 1 and crossed a street into the section of town I'd volunteered to adorn.

Speaker 1 I was helping to set up for Candlewalk.

Speaker 1 It was a holiday tradition in our little village,

Speaker 1 and one that I remembered fondly from childhood.

Speaker 1 I was eager to be a part of bringing it to life now that I was grown

Speaker 1 through all of downtown and a bit into the surrounding neighborhoods,

Speaker 1 we would line the streets on both sides with candles

Speaker 1 that would hopefully burn all night.

Speaker 1 The effect was a magical glow

Speaker 1 that drew folks to downtown

Speaker 1 to enjoy an evening of holiday cheer together.

Speaker 1 In my little red wagon, I'd wedged four crates of half pint jam jars, with dozens of jars in each one,

Speaker 1 a bag of playground sand with an old measuring cup stuck in the grains,

Speaker 1 about two hundred tea light candles,

Speaker 1 and the long-necked lighter I used to light my fireplace.

Speaker 1 I also had a thermos of hot cocoa that I'd been able to fill at the bakery as I passed through town for supplies.

Speaker 1 I was saving it to drink at just the right moment.

Speaker 1 I'd been assigned the stretch of streets north of town, running down from the library to Main Street.

Speaker 1 The library had its own lanterns set out,

Speaker 1 big ones,

Speaker 1 balanced on the stone wall that ran in front of the building.

Speaker 1 And a few of the houses that lined the street

Speaker 1 had paper luminaries lit along their front walks.

Speaker 1 I liked that.

Speaker 1 We all brought a bit of brightness to the evening.

Speaker 1 There was a bit of snow,

Speaker 1 enough to cover lawns

Speaker 1 and drift into sloping piles on rooftops.

Speaker 1 But the sidewalks were clear and salted.

Speaker 1 I laughingly remembered taking my kitchen table salt shaker outside

Speaker 1 that first snowfall of freshman year

Speaker 1 and my little college apartment in an old house with slippery front steps,

Speaker 1 reasoning that salt was salt, after all, wasn't it?

Speaker 1 And yes, my dad had suggested more than once

Speaker 1 I pick up a bucket of the sidewalk sort to keep at the door.

Speaker 1 But it just hadn't seemed that important.

Speaker 1 I'd rushed off to class,

Speaker 1 hoping that my few sprinkles would do the trick

Speaker 1 and come home to find the sidewalks shoveled

Speaker 1 and copiously coated with proper ice melt

Speaker 1 a nearly full bucket of the stuff on the step beside a new shovel

Speaker 1 a note stuck on the handle just a smiley face and a Love, Dad scrawled on it.

Speaker 1 That shovel had seen me through quite a few winters,

Speaker 1 and it had felt so good to be looked after like that that I did my best to pay it forward,

Speaker 1 shoveling for a neighbor whenever I could.

Speaker 1 I noticed a few shovels now on front porches or leaned against garage doors,

Speaker 1 waiting for the next big snow.

Speaker 1 I had a feeling it could be coming tonight.

Speaker 1 There was a sharpness in the air,

Speaker 1 and it occurred to me that snow might smell like silent sounds.

Speaker 1 The very molecules in the air were wrapped in ice,

Speaker 1 muted and blanketed, like the land would soon be.

Speaker 1 I shook the poetry from my head and turned to my wagon to start my work.

Speaker 1 I took a few jars from a box and examined them.

Speaker 1 They were small, half-pint jam jars,

Speaker 1 and their surface was made of beveled glass

Speaker 1 in a design I'd sometimes heard called quilted.

Speaker 1 Who had thought of this detail? I wondered.

Speaker 1 The candlelight would do more than glow inside of them.

Speaker 1 It would throw its illumination in pretty patterns onto the snow and sidewalks.

Speaker 1 I scooped a half cup or so of sand into the bottom of each one,

Speaker 1 then dropped a tea light on top of it.

Speaker 1 The sand would smother a flame in a moment if someone accidentally kicked a jar over.

Speaker 1 And since the candles were small,

Speaker 1 they would only burn for the evening anyway.

Speaker 1 The jars were meant to go just a few feet apart on the sidewalk for maximum magical effect.

Speaker 1 And at first I was clumsily walking a few steps,

Speaker 1 juggling a jar as I tried to light the candle and find an even piece of pavement to set it on.

Speaker 1 Then, as with most things,

Speaker 1 a little bit of experience led to a lot more expertise,

Speaker 1 and I stood at my wagon, prepping a dozen jars at a time

Speaker 1 Jar,

Speaker 1 sand, candle

Speaker 1 jar,

Speaker 1 sand, candle

Speaker 1 and back into their box.

Speaker 1 Then I filled one pocket with tea lights

Speaker 1 And as I worked my way down the street toward downtown,

Speaker 1 I'd just stop every few feet,

Speaker 1 grab a jar, light the candle,

Speaker 1 and settle it on to the the ground

Speaker 1 By the time I pulled my wagon to the corner of downtown where the cafe sat

Speaker 1 Its windows strung with lights and fogged from the warmth inside

Speaker 1 night had truly fallen

Speaker 1 all around me

Speaker 1 The streets shone with hundreds maybe thousands of candles

Speaker 1 and villagers villagers were turned out in their hats and coats, enjoying the winter magic.

Speaker 1 Each shop had special offerings inside for the candle walkers:

Speaker 1 Christmas cookies and cider,

Speaker 1 keepsake ornaments,

Speaker 1 beautifully decorated trees to tie a wish on,

Speaker 1 Santa and elves to visit.

Speaker 1 I checked my map

Speaker 1 and saw there was one small alley that I still needed to visit.

Speaker 1 I tugged at the handle of my wagon and headed off.

Speaker 1 It sat between a row of stores and the movie theater.

Speaker 1 And I think even long time residents

Speaker 1 sometimes forgot that it was here.

Speaker 1 An old, narrow lane with a few small offices and doorways in it.

Speaker 1 It was twisty and winding,

Speaker 1 and as I lit candles and laid them down,

Speaker 1 the shadows bounced off the brick walls around me.

Speaker 1 Even in this little used spot,

Speaker 1 I noticed wreaths in the windows,

Speaker 1 red bows, and jingle bells on doors.

Speaker 1 Just as I was opening my last box of jars

Speaker 1 and scraping the bottom of the bag of sand,

Speaker 1 I heard music coming from farther down the alley.

Speaker 1 A Christmas choir warming up and walking my way.

Speaker 1 They were dressed in deep green coats, with white scarves and gloves,

Speaker 1 and singing in harmony

Speaker 1 A song about repeating the sounding joy

Speaker 1 I slid my wagon to the side to make room in the narrow space,

Speaker 1 and held my lit candle in a jar in front of me as they passed,

Speaker 1 like I was holding up a lighter in the dark of a stadium at Encore.

Speaker 1 We smiled at each other,

Speaker 1 knowing we were sharing a pure moment of delight,

Speaker 1 and their blended voices thrummed through the air around me.

Speaker 1 I thought of the beveled glass of the jam jars,

Speaker 1 the note from Dad on the shovel,

Speaker 1 the lanterns at the library,

Speaker 1 the cocoa in my thermos,

Speaker 1 the wreaths in the alley windows,

Speaker 1 and felt a swell of love for the things that are good in this world and those who make them.

Speaker 1 I whispered a small promise to keep seeking them out

Speaker 1 as the new year arrived.

Speaker 1 Candle Walk.

Speaker 1 I had a hand-drawn map in the pocket of my coat

Speaker 1 and a red wagon beside me full of supplies.

Speaker 1 It wasn't dark yet,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 in another quarter of an hour,

Speaker 1 the deep blue of the sky would shift to purple,

Speaker 1 and then to the bottomless midnight black of the heart of winter.

Speaker 1 As I pulled the cart,

Speaker 1 it jostled over the cracks in the sidewalk,

Speaker 1 and the jars inside

Speaker 1 clinked in rhythm with my steps.

Speaker 1 I stopped to check the map

Speaker 1 and crossed a street into the section of town

Speaker 1 I'd volunteered to adorn.

Speaker 1 I was helping to set up

Speaker 1 for Candle Walk.

Speaker 1 It was a holiday tradition in our little village,

Speaker 1 one that I remembered fondly from childhood

Speaker 1 when I was eager to be a part of bringing it to life

Speaker 1 now that I was grown

Speaker 1 Through all of downtown

Speaker 1 and a bit into the surrounding neighborhoods

Speaker 1 We would line the streets on both sides with candles

Speaker 1 that would hopefully burn all night.

Speaker 1 The effect was a magical glow

Speaker 1 that drew folks to downtown

Speaker 1 to enjoy an evening of holiday cheer

Speaker 1 in my little red wagon.

Speaker 1 I'd wedged four crates

Speaker 1 of half pint jam jars

Speaker 1 with dozens of jars in each one,

Speaker 1 a bag of playground sand

Speaker 1 with an old measuring cup stuck in the grains,

Speaker 1 about two hundred tea light candles,

Speaker 1 and a long necked lighter I used to light my fireplace.

Speaker 1 I also had a thermos of hot cocoa

Speaker 1 that I'd been able to fill at the bakery

Speaker 1 as I passed through town for supplies.

Speaker 1 I was saving it to drink at just the right moment.

Speaker 1 I'd been assigned the stretch of streets north of town,

Speaker 1 running down from the library to Main Street.

Speaker 1 The library had its own lanterns set out,

Speaker 1 big ones balanced on the stone wall that ran in front of the building.

Speaker 1 And a few of the houses that lined the streets had paper luminaries lit

Speaker 1 along their front walks.

Speaker 1 I liked that.

Speaker 1 We all brought a bit of brightness to the evening.

Speaker 1 There was a bit of snow,

Speaker 1 enough to cover lawns

Speaker 1 and drift into sloping piles on rooftops.

Speaker 1 But the sidewalks were clear and salted.

Speaker 1 I laughingly remembered

Speaker 1 taking my kitchen table salt shaker outside

Speaker 1 that first snowfall of freshman year

Speaker 1 at my little college apartment

Speaker 1 in an old house

Speaker 1 with slippery front steps,

Speaker 1 reasoning

Speaker 1 that salt was salt, after all, wasn't it?

Speaker 1 And yes, my dad had suggested, more than once,

Speaker 1 I pick up a bucket of the sidewalk sort

Speaker 1 to keep at the door.

Speaker 1 But it just hadn't seemed that important.

Speaker 1 I rushed off to class,

Speaker 1 hoping that my few sprinkles would do the trick,

Speaker 1 and come home to find the sidewalks shoveled

Speaker 1 and copiously coated with proper ice melt,

Speaker 1 a nearly full bucket of the stuff

Speaker 1 on the step, beside a new shovel,

Speaker 1 with a note stuck on on the handle.

Speaker 1 Just a smiley face

Speaker 1 and a love dad scrawled on it.

Speaker 1 That shovel had seen me through quite a few winters.

Speaker 1 And it had felt so good

Speaker 1 to be looked after like that.

Speaker 1 That I did my best to pay it forward.

Speaker 1 shoveling for a neighbor whenever I could.

Speaker 1 I noticed a few shovels now

Speaker 1 on front porches

Speaker 1 or leaned against garage doors,

Speaker 1 waiting for the next big snow.

Speaker 1 I had a feeling it could be coming tonight.

Speaker 1 There was a sharpness in the air

Speaker 1 and I thought that snow might smell

Speaker 1 like silent sounds.

Speaker 1 The very molecules in the air

Speaker 1 were wrapped in ice,

Speaker 1 muted

Speaker 1 and blanketed, like the land would soon be.

Speaker 1 I shook the poetry from my head

Speaker 1 and turned to my wagon

Speaker 1 to start my work.

Speaker 1 I took a few jars from a box and examined them.

Speaker 1 They were small,

Speaker 1 half-pint jam jars,

Speaker 1 and their surface was made of beveled glass

Speaker 1 in a design I'd sometimes heard called quilted.

Speaker 1 Who had thought of this detail? I wondered.

Speaker 1 The candlelight

Speaker 1 would do more than glow inside of them.

Speaker 1 It would throw its illumination

Speaker 1 in pretty patterns onto the snow and sidewalks.

Speaker 1 I scooped a half cup or so of sand

Speaker 1 into the bottom of each one,

Speaker 1 then dropped a tea light on top of it.

Speaker 1 The sand would smother a flame in a moment

Speaker 1 if someone accidentally kicked a jar over.

Speaker 1 And since the candles were small,

Speaker 1 they would only burn for the evening anyway.

Speaker 1 The jars were meant to go just a few feet apart on the sidewalk for maximum magical effect.

Speaker 1 And at first,

Speaker 1 I was clumsily walking a few steps,

Speaker 1 juggling a jar as I tried to light the candle

Speaker 1 and find an even piece of pavement to set it on.

Speaker 1 Then, as with most things,

Speaker 1 a little bit of experience

Speaker 1 led to a lot more expertise,

Speaker 1 and I stood at my wagon, prepping a dozen jars at a time.

Speaker 1 Jar,

Speaker 1 sand,

Speaker 1 candle.

Speaker 1 Jar,

Speaker 1 sand, candle,

Speaker 1 and back into their box.

Speaker 1 Then I filled one pocket with tea lights.

Speaker 1 And as I worked my way down the street,

Speaker 1 away from the library

Speaker 1 and toward downtown,

Speaker 1 I would just stop

Speaker 1 every few feet,

Speaker 1 grab a jar,

Speaker 1 light the wick,

Speaker 1 and settle it onto the ground.

Speaker 1 By the time I pulled my wagon to the corner of downtown,

Speaker 1 where the cafe sat

Speaker 1 its windows

Speaker 1 strung with lights

Speaker 1 and fogged from the warmth inside

Speaker 1 night had truly fallen

Speaker 1 all around me

Speaker 1 the streets shone with hundreds

Speaker 1 maybe thousands of candles

Speaker 1 and villagers were turned out in their hats and coats,

Speaker 1 enjoying the winter magic.

Speaker 1 Each shop

Speaker 1 had special offerings inside for the candle walkers,

Speaker 1 Christmas cookies and cider,

Speaker 1 keepsake ornaments,

Speaker 1 beautifully decorated trees to tie a wish on,

Speaker 1 Santa and elves to visit.

Speaker 1 I checked my map

Speaker 1 and saw there was one small alley

Speaker 1 that I still needed to visit.

Speaker 1 I tugged at the handle of my wagon

Speaker 1 and had it off.

Speaker 1 It sat between a row of stores and the movie theater.

Speaker 1 And I think

Speaker 1 even longtime residents sometimes forgot it was there.

Speaker 1 An old, narrow lane

Speaker 1 with a few small offices and doorways in it.

Speaker 1 It was twisty and winding.

Speaker 1 And as I lit candles and laid them down,

Speaker 1 the shadows bounced off the brick walls around me.

Speaker 1 Even in this little used spot,

Speaker 1 I noticed wreaths in windows,

Speaker 1 red bows, and jingle bells on doors.

Speaker 1 Just as I was opening my last box of jars,

Speaker 1 scraping the bottom of the sandbag.

Speaker 1 I heard music coming from farther down the alley.

Speaker 1 A Christmas choir warming up

Speaker 1 and walking my way.

Speaker 1 They were dressed in deep green coats

Speaker 1 with white scarves and gloves

Speaker 1 and singing in harmony

Speaker 1 A song about repeating the sounding joy.

Speaker 1 I slid my wagon to the side

Speaker 1 to make room in the narrow space

Speaker 1 and held my lit candle in its jar

Speaker 1 in front of me as they passed by,

Speaker 1 like I was holding up a lighter

Speaker 1 in the dark of a stadium at Encore.

Speaker 1 We smiled at each other,

Speaker 1 knowing we were sharing

Speaker 1 a pure moment of delight,

Speaker 1 and their blended voices thrummed through the air around me.

Speaker 1 I thought of the beveled glass, of the jam jars,

Speaker 1 the note from Dad on the shovel,

Speaker 1 the lanterns at the library,

Speaker 1 the cocoa in my thermos,

Speaker 1 the wreaths in the alley windows,

Speaker 1 and felt a swell of love

Speaker 1 for the things that are good in this world

Speaker 1 and those who make them.

Speaker 1 I whispered a small promise

Speaker 1 to keep seeking them out

Speaker 1 as the new year arrived.

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams.