🌞 An Invitation to the Joys of Journaling June

A month-long summer adventure inward one page at a time

Sawadee ka fellow learn-it-all 👋

Greetings from Thailand… for the last time (for now)

I leave Thailand for the foreseeable future tomorrow. It’s been seven beautiful months full of learnings I can take with me the rest of my life. I am grateful for this time and partially in shock with a tinge of anger for how fast time passes. I wish I could slow down the ticker on the seconds of the watch that add up each day.

I’m starting to get sentimental about everything.

My last time getting drenched in the monsoony May. My last time laughing at a tuktuk as it drives by. My last toasty I’ll shamelessly buy a toasty from Seven Eleven for dinner. Last time bowing and saying sawadeeka as I walk down the street past an elder. Last time I’ll go and get my back cracked during an authentic Thai massage. My first time and last time eating Five Star fried chicken and green mango. My last time ordering Thai tea with “nit noi” sugar.

I’m in the midst of writing a letter to Thailand—a cake still baking in the oven.

Before I leave, I wanted to share something that’s helped me through all the changes: journaling. It’s how I find clarity, presence, and peace no matter where I land.

Now, let’s dive into letter 264 from a learn-it-all. Enjoy!

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🖊️Writing

✨ An Invitation to the Joys of Journaling June

❓Question to think about

What do I want to journal about this June to express self-compassion?

It’s June 1st. The month when summer begins to stretch her limbs, shake off the dew, and step out in full bloom.

I’ve recently spoken with some new friends who said they wished they journaled. Journaling every day for the past six years has given me so much peace.

I’ve decided to devote this week’s letter as an invitation to you with daily prompts to start your journaling practice this month.

Something about this fresh page of the calendar feels ripe for recalibration. A good time to check in—not with pressure or perfection—but with playful presence. So here’s my invitation to you: let June be your journaling month.

Think of it like a cleanse, not of your diet, but your mind.

A daily dusting-off of your inner windows.

A habit that brings clarity, delight, and direction leading with your heart.

A therapist with infinite patience.

You don’t need a fancy journal. You don’t need hours. Just ten minutes and a little ritual. Maybe after brushing your teeth or brewing your morning tea. Or as you crawl into bed and reflect on the day while the blankets hold you.

To me, journaling is like taking the lint out of the dryer so your thoughts tumble fresh. It’s like tuning a guitar string so that you can hum through the day in harmony.

📓 Creative constraint suggestions:

1. Start small.

2. Don’t worry about grammar, beauty, or depth.

3. Use it as a mirror, not a performance.

4. Let your words surprise you.

Below are 30 gentle prompts. One for each day of June focused on love, wellness and reflection. Pick one a day. Or flip around and repeat. Follow your curiosity.

🌞 June Journaling Prompts

1. What’s a summer adventure I want to plan?

2. What makes me feel most alive right now?

3. What’s one small way I can nourish my body today?

4. What new habit do I want to grow?

5. What boundary would help me feel more peaceful?

6. Who made me feel seen and safe this week?

7. What made today a great day?

8. What do I love about my life?

9. How can I show up with love this week?

10. What are the small facts and details of my days lately?

11. What makes me feel grounded?

12. How can I build a rhythm or routine that supports me?

13. What beauty did I witness this week?

14. What memory do I want to hold onto?

15. When was the last time I deep belly laughed?

16. What am I grateful for today?

17. What can I create this week?

18. What have I consumed that deeply resonated? Why?

19. What am I proud of?

20. What brought me peace this week?

21. Who have I connected with that brings me joy?

22. How is my health (body, mind, and spirit)?

23. How’s my balance between doing and being?

24. What would my wiser future self think about today?

25. What am I excited about?

26. What was the last nourishing meal I loved?

27. What did I learn this week?

28. What am I curious about?

29. What project do I want to start?

30. What did I love about my month of June?

🎧 Listening

Well, open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and, damn, you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love, love
Listen to the music of the moment, people dance and sing
We're just one big family
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved

So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours

I sang this song with my Argentinian tent mate friend Nati on our last morning together at the project after journaling and meditating next to each other. She has such a beautiful voice.

🔍Word to define

✨ Eunoia (noun) | Pronounced: you-NOY-ah

Origin: Greek

Meaning:

1. Beautiful thinking.

2. A state of well mind or goodwill.

3. In rhetoric (as used by Aristotle), it refers to the goodwill a speaker cultivates with their audience—a kind of mental harmony or connection between minds

Fun facts

• Shortest English word containing all five vowels — just six letters, but rich with meaning.

• It’s a reminder that our inner world with our thoughts, intentions, and attention that shape how we show up in the outer world.

🌟Quote to inspire

“One day you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now.” — Paulo Coelho

📸Photo of the Week

I just came back from ten days living off-grid with the Mindfulness Project.

I ate vegetarian meals, woke with the sun, showered with buckets, and journaled in silence beside new friends from around the world.

You’d never guess I also had bed bugs in a monastery, peeling skin from too much plaster, and Frodo feet caked in permanent mud.But the mud on my Frodo feet has become part of the story and I’m walking away with more creative mojo back as poems popping up like plumeria with inspiration all around me.

🙏Shoutouts

• To Christian at the Mindfulness Project and all the beautiful people I met there. I feel like I have a new family. I feel so loved and held in my vulnerability living such a simple life.

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I appreciate you reading this!

If ideas resonated, I’d love you to press the heart button, leave a comment, reply to this email, or reach me at vermetjl@gmail.com.

Keep on learning 😁

K̄ha bhuṇ ka 🌺 🌺

Jen

PS - in case you missed last week’s letter from Bangkok.

PPS- if you’d like to read my favorite letters, the best way to encourage my work is to buy my book on Amazon here.