🎁 Unwrapping the Gift of Time

Finding the Extraordinary in the Everyday (letter 246)

Greetings from Chiang Rai, Thailand friend. I’m’ diving right in today feeling zesty and can’t waste another moment fiddling! Usual life updates are waiting for you at the bottom. Enjoy! :)

🎁 Unwrapping the Gift of Time

When we are born, all we’re given is time.

Time to use however we choose. And I choose to find the extraordinary in the ordinary—the moments that make life worthwhile.

I think back to the beginning of my life—a snowy Michigan night, a bald baby nestled into my mom—and realize that all I had then, and all I still have now, is time. Time to make something of this life. Time to choose what matters most.

We all come into this world with nothing but time. And yet, we spend so much of it saying we don’t have enough. Isn’t that wild?

It’s easy to feel limited—by borders, circumstances, or the countless excuses that my mind insists are valid:

• I’m dyslexic, so I shouldn’t be a writer.

• I have flat feet, so I shouldn’t be a runner.

• I have scoliosis, so I shouldn’t be a yogi.

• I love my family, so I shouldn’t be without them.

• I’m allergic to grass, so I shouldn’t be in nature.

• I went to the ER for my anxiety attack last year, so I shouldn’t live abroad.

• I can’t handle spice, so I shouldn’t live where the food is fiery.

And yet, here I am, defying all of those “shouldn’ts,” making a life filled with intention, messiness, and joy.

A Shared Humanity

In one place, I eat with chopsticks; in another, I use a fork and knife. Sometimes it’s rice for supper, sometimes noodles for dinner. I bow here and hold doors there. But underneath it all, we’re just people who want to feel safe, loved, and seen. We all want to matter.

Even when life feels impossibly hard—like when matcha latte milk spills on my dress on the way to school, or when I cry on Christmas morning, 8,000 miles away from everyone I love—there’s still a deep desire to believe that my time here on Earth means something.

Why am I here birthed onto planet Earth? Why was I given this gift of time? Was it to smile at strangers while running, to share a laugh, or to feel the sun on my face outside the canteen after a nippy morning?

Humans, with our big brains and opposable thumbs, build skyscrapers and write novels, yet we still struggle with the basics: listening to those we love, making peace with our fears, or simply sitting still. And yet, in all our flaws, there’s something beautiful about our efforts. We’re messy and curious, using words to connect even when they fail us.

A Life of Choice

The gift of time means I get to choose—not just how I spend my days, but how I define success, joy, and love. It doesn’t mean ticking endless boxes for productivity’s sake. It means laughing when I need to laugh, resting when I need to rest, and dreaming as wildly as I can.

If I want to walk for twelve hours, write a book, or sail across an ocean—why not try? The limitations I once thought I had aren’t as rigid as they seemed. I can choose freedom. I can choose boldness. I can choose to notice life.

Seven Practices for Noticing Life

Here’s how I make noticing a practice:

1. Morning Check-In.
   When I wake up, I pause before jumping out of bed. I notice the swelling from a bee sting on my back has gone down. I feel the antihistamine induced drool dried on my cheek. Tight calves remind me of last night’s run, and dehydration calls for a tall glass of water.These small moments of awareness ground me before the day begins.

2. Pause for a Noticing Moment.
   At random points, I stop and note three details around me: the shadows the light makes through a window, the tones of my coworkers’ Thai chatter, the feeling of my hunched back *not* against my chair, or the shimmer of tinsel still clinging to the office Christmas tree, weeks after the holiday..

3. Let Out a Deep Sigh.
   When stress hits—like my computer refusing to connect to the projector for my students’ Dream Trip presentations—I pause, exhale deeply, and reset. A long sigh reminds me to move forward instead of dwelling on the problem.

4. Take a Headphone-Free Walk.
   After a long day of luminescent lights, energetic Thai children, and loud PA announcements, my nervous system is shot. I reset by walking without music, tuning into birds chirping, leaves rustling, or distant conversations. I smile and wave at passersby, letting the world’s symphony replace the noise in my head.

5. Adopt a Gratitude Grace Practice.
   Before dinner, I reflect on the journey my food took to reach me, the people I’m grateful for, and lessons I learned that day. This small ritual makes each meal more meaningful.

6. Eat a Meal with My Eyes Closed.
   Even a 29-baht toasty from 7-Eleven after a seven-mile run becomes an experience. I focus on the aroma of cheese, the crispiness of the corners, and the sound of my chewing. It’s a $1 dinner, but with intention, it feels nourishing.

7. Meditate While Brushing My Teeth.
   Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote on page 19 of Peace is Every Breath, “You have the time to brush your teeth. You have a toothbrush, toothpaste, and teeth to brush. The challenge is to brush your teeth in such a way that you have ease and happiness during the whole one to two minutes.” Focusing on the bristles, the taste of toothpaste, and the rhythm of my breath turns a simple task into a moment of mindfulness.

Time Is Your Gift

Use your time wisely—and by wisely, I don’t mean efficiently. I mean fully. Notice the little things: the deepening colors of the sky after sunset, the warmth in your chest when someone smiles at you, the delight of hearing how a new friend spent three weeks in Turkey, surviving on tomato sauce while caring for puppies.

If something is holding you back—fear, doubt, or the weight of others’ expectations—remember this: You were born with nothing but time. And with it, you can create a life that feels limitless, a life that’s just on time.

An Invitation

I invite you to shift your perspective—time isn’t a limitation; it’s a gift. Each moment offers a chance to notice, savor, and choose what matters most. How you fill your time shapes the life you create.

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I’d love to hear from you! What is a practice you have for noticing life more fully? What resonates with you from these words on the screen?

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Now onto the usuals that I share each week. Let’s make aplomb into my letter 246 updates!

🏃🏻‍♀️Doing

• Running four times a week for a few months now and my half marathon is next week. I am **stoked**.

• Looking into air pollution solutions for the PM 2.5 that is in the air in Chiang Rai for the next few months.

• Swimming in a pool at CRRU university 30 minutes away about once a week, doing Yoga at Shanty’s studio, and having tennis lessons

• Ordering my tea and meals in Thai

• Taking forever to memorize the Thai numbers

• Making rock solid AM and PM routines

• Bought new glasses that are near identical to my old glasses except they’re light, made in China and the store told me I could sit on the metal and they wouldn’t break… updates to come..

🥰 Feeling

• overjoyed teaching my students how to write their first letter. I have clarity that I absolutely love facilitating curious individuals in writing creatively in letter formats.

• hella old showing my seventh-grade students in Science and Technology class the trailer to Wall-E to spark some giggles and new vocabulary words while realizing this movie came out in 2008, years before they were born.

• grateful that my 10th graders enjoyed reading chapter 1 of Alice in Wonderland. We are going to read chapter 2 next week. Also, v grateful to Chat GPT for simplifying the text into a CEFR reading level for A2 so they can understand the story.

• existential as my 29th birthday nears

• Annoyed with the mosquito bites on my ankles

• Confused why I woke up with my left eye super puffy

• Excited about meeting monks

🤓 Reading

I’ve been rereading and re-listening to the letter 140 I wrote over two years ago called “What’s The Rush?”. I became fascinated with the feeling of being rushed and the concept of patience so much that I set my intention for 2022 for patience.

🎧 Listening

“Only a Lifetime” by Finneas from his album “Optimist” (that’s new to me.)

Here are some lyrics:

How do you know
If it was worth it in the end?
Did every second really count
Or were there some you shouldn't spend
On anything but anyone you love?
Was this the life that you were dreaming of?
A movie night, a yellow light
You're slowing down and days are adding up

So don't waste the time you have waiting for time to pass
It's only a lifetime
That's only a while
It's not worth the anger you felt as a child
Don't waste the time you have waiting for time to pass
It's only a lifetime
That's not long enough
You're not gonna like it without any love
So don't waste it

I'm unimpressed
By the people preaching pain
For the sake of some small gain
In the sake of someone's name

I'm unprepared
For my loved ones to be gone
Call 'em way too often now
Worry way too much about mom

🌟Quote to inspire

“What if the day, what if time itself isn’t a scarce resource to seize but a gift to receive with grateful joy?”

– John Mark Comer from The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry page 251 (my favorite book I read in 2023)

🎬 Watching

This decade-old movie About Time struck a chord with me and a new way of looking at the passage of time.

My favorite line is also the last of the movie: “We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.”

📸Photo of the Week

These are my students from grade 12 or in Thailand it’s called Matthayom 6 class 5. I love how Friend helps to translate for others. I love that Phat.C writes herself birthday letters each year. I love how Maprang forgives me when I butcher her name pronunciation with my midwestern nasaly A sound and she gigges. I love that Pao comes to class now and will pass. I love that Kong spoke Japanese for the introduction of his dream trip to Japan even though I teach an English speech class.

They’re such a hoot. I love them. A lot.

🙏Shoutouts

• A conversation with my friend Henry while watching cows graze on hill. He loves to give warm hugs and inspired this piece on how time is a gift.

• Edits from my friend

  Steven Foster

  that dramatically gave this writing direction to make it better

• A quick chat with my friend Hannah who had the brilliant idea of sharing my noticing practices. She reminded me that Rob Walker wrote a whole book on this. Here’s a quote from him: “You can’t see anything until you slow down the pace of looking. The more you look, the more you see.” – Rob Walker in The Art of Noticing.

• Wall-E the abandoned robot on Earth who gives humanity hope for their planet again

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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 on feeling feelings.

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

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