Looking at the ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ Awards we’ve given out to date, whether it’s a storyline on Coronation Street, a way of thinking (Earth jurisprudence), or people who have created projects and businesses, they all seem to have one thing in common – and that’s a lot of behind-the-scenes, hard work to create something good in the world. Whilst the recipients are all very worthy, this trend is somewhat misleading, because you don’t need to go to great lengths, or achieve great things to be living in an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ way. Indeed, most people are doing lots of small things in their daily lives all of the time, which model living in an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ way. There are so many ways we can exist in an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ way and these are often things which we probably do day in, day out, without giving them any thought – for example, recycling our rubbish, putting food out for the birds, helping someone off the bus with a heavy bag, opening a door and letting someone pass before you, donating your old clothes to a charity shop.

So, this brings me to the latest recipient of the Award… the Anonymous Apple Donator….

Over several Sundays, a big box of cooking apples has been placed on the pavement, not far from where I live, with a note saying, ‘help yourself’. Having three teenagers to feed, I’ve been more than happy to take some apples each time. This kindness and thrift made not only me smile, but also created a warm fuzzy feeling in my household with three competitive teenagers! My daughter is much handier in the kitchen than her brothers and made us some lovely apple crumbles. As you can probably imagine, giving compliments to siblings is a rarity during these temperamental years, but both boys commented independently on how much they enjoyed the puddings. This made my daughter and my sons smile – warm fuzzy feelings all round! Of course, not one to miss an opportunity for talking about the OK Corral, I had to chip in about how heartwarming the ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ interactions were, as a result of the ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ act of leaving out the apples – feel the love people! Alas, my waxing lyrical was met with some muttering and eye rolling from said teenagers, but nevermind; I can be somewhat prone to over-egging the pudding at times (and also making lame puns).

Thank you very much for sharing the apples, Anonymous Apple Donator, we very much appreciated it. Kindness really does beget kindness and yours helped my children connect with each other over apple crumble (and custard).

I wonder how many things you, dear reader, might have already done today which model an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ way of existing? Everyone is welcome to make a nomination for the Award, for any acts big or small, so if you’d like to nominate someone, please get in touch.

The ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ Award is intended as a way of raising awareness of the OK Corral, whilst recognising and acknowledging the many good things people are creating in the world. If you have a story about a person, group of people, organisation, concept, policy, system etc which exists in an ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ way, please share it by clicking the nominate button below.