A thing, for anyone who wants to slow down the remainder of the year with a little daily journalling…

Welcome to #KOKOROWORK, a free 36-day deep journalling adventure inspired by the questions in my book 'KOKORO: Japanese wisdom for a life well lived'. 'Kokoro' (心) is a beautiful untranslatable term in the Japanese language which is perhaps best articulated in English as 'the intelligent heart'. Asking ourselves the kind of questions I will be sharing in the coming days, and listening for the answers to arrive, is the work of the intelligent heart. It is #kokorowork.

I hope you will join me in doing this, and release some of the wisdom you carry within onto the page in the coming days. Here’s how it works: Each day for the next 36 days I am sharing one thought-provoking question from KOKORO. You might like to light a candle before you begin, or put on some quiet music, and then ask the question to yourself, take a deep breath, and listen for the answer. Allow the response to surprise you. Don’t force it. Don’t write what you think you should write in case someone reads it. Just write what comes.

Feel free to share a one line summary of your response in the comments of each day's post if you like. Even if you responded to these when I shared them last year, do consider joining in again, because all kinds of things will have changed since then.

I will post questions here on Substack Notes each day from late afternoon UK time, from now through until November 25, but Notes can be a little tricky to find, so I will also share on my Insta @bethkempton.

I hope they bring you a quiet moment of contemplation each day as the busy season approaches. Here is our first question:

✨Where are you in your life right now? How is this different or similar to how you imagined your life would be at this particular age and stage?✨

You might like to take out your notebook, write the question at the top, and then fill an entire page with your response.

May these questions guide you inwards, so your own kokoro can guide you forwards.

Beth Xx