When my mind races down the rabbit hole of brokenness, I remind myself of Leonard Cohen’s song, “Anthem.” “There is a crack in everything/that’s how the light gets in.”
My inbox has been flooded with the year-in-review emails: all the breaking news of 2025. Well into 2026 now, it seems that almost everything is broken. At least I couldn’t read about it when the power went off in an ice storm. Instead, I closed my eyes in the dark and remembered a heartwarming letter exchange I witnessed in December. A little girl’s letter to Santa was beautifully decorated with sparkly, silver ink. She wanted a fun Christmas, art supplies, world peace, and if it wasn’t asking for too much, a dog.
She gave Santa hope for the world. In reply, Santa told her to put her hand over her heart, and she would feel Christmas inside of her. She was the gift. He asked her how she would draw Puppies for Peace. I hope her dreams come true.
I am a morning person and wake long before sunrise, even in the summer. It gives me a chance to check in with Grace before the crack of dawn. Hand over my heart, I give myself some Reiki and ask Grace what gifts I have to offer the world today. She often tells me to show up and listen generously, even to breaking news. Grace is fonder of questions than answers. Here are some of our questions these days.
What if drugs were about healing not escape?
What if all energy was renewable, including that of children at Christmas?
What if we all loved our neighbors, no exceptions? What if the world was our neighborhood?
What if all children were loved unconditionally and taught to share?
What if everyone had enough food, housing, health care and clothing?
What if we lived at peace with ourselves and each other?
These ancient questions have been in my consciousness all my life, often through music. “Let There Be Peace on Earth” was written in 1955 and was originally sung by the International Children’s Choir. I was coming of age with songs like “The Dawning of The Age of Aquarius” and “Morning Has Broken.” Joanna Macy and The Great Turning entered my awareness much later. Since her passing last summer, she sometimes shows up in my morning meditation.
I woke up on Epiphany wishing the world would have one. “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love.” If we greet the crack of dawn with our gifts, the world will finally live love in peace.
Trish Passmore Alley holds an MBA in Organizational Development and Behavior. A published author and poet, her career has included teaching at the collegiate level, owning several small businesses in manufacturing, engineering, and retail, and founding and operating three social profits in Greensboro, A published author and poet, she posts brief, monthly blogs at gracefulmischief.com/.When her column refers to Grace, it is a presence in her life, and it is capitalized. She now lives in Shelburne.
