I stand in front of a beautiful apartment building.

There's a pizzeria on the ground floor,

and the scent of fresh dough and tomato sauce drift upward.

I hear the bustle of downtown Salerno not too far away. I take a deep breath.

The apartment door swings open.

Standing in the door frame with a welcoming smile

is a woman that's shorter than me with

dark hair and green eyes. This is my fresh start.

Catherine Nicolai, creator of the Nothing Much Happens podcast,

learned as a child that the way she should go through life is to diminish her own needs.

In her youth, she pretends like she is always okay,

because she never wants to become a problem for others.

Today, she shares the story of how a transformative year in Italy teaches her that it's okay to take up space and to express our needs.

We also want to let you know that this story touches on subjects of neglect and child endangerment.

So please take care while listening.

In this series we combine immersive first-person stories,

breathtaking music and mindfulness prompts,

so that we may see our lives reflected back to us in other people's stories.

And that can lead to improvements in our own inner lives.

From Wait What, this is meditative story.

I'm Rohan and I'll be your guide. The body relaxed.

The body breathing.

...