SHELBURNE – Looking out the window sitting at my meditation altar on June 1, I saw birds, bees and a baby bunny. Bunny picked a dandelion and munched contentedly on it from stem to going-to-seed flower. The season’s first hummingbird flew overhead to bless the meal. Grace whispered, “It’s going to be a joyful June.”
I smiled to myself and thought, “Birds, Bees and Baby Bunnies” would make a good beginning for a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood. I laughed out loud when I saw bunny sniffing the stone rabbit sculpture on my deck later in the morning.
Across cultural traditions, the many spiritual attributes of rabbits include fertility, creativity, gentleness, kindness, gratitude, rebirth, transformation, the divine feminine, intuition, abundance and the blessings of paradox. I wonder if rabbits are mystics.
I just happened to be reading the fifth anniversary edition of “Joyfully Shattered: A Physician’s Awakening at the Crossroads of Science and Spirituality” by Rick Sheff, M.D. Fascinating. Thank you, Rick, for so gracefully naming how I feel this June, joyfully shattered.
When the deluge of demagoguery from DOGE and others who threaten democracy leaves me feeling shattered and downright depressed, I dose myself on some good news and donate to my favorite charities.
Then I stumbled upon WholeHeart Inc. on last year’s giving list. June this year is the culminating month of the nonprofit I co-founded and poured my heart into 12 years ago. We designed WholeHeart’s Wellness Model using a chambered shell of a nautilus. A heart was the love center, which flowed into the first chamber: Grace. We defined Grace as “Joy, Spirit, Creativity, Vision, Purpose, and Meaning.”
Last fall, Wake Robin’s weed warriors pulled out the milkweed from the flower bed along the side of my cottage. It attracted Monarchs and hummingbirds all summer. I expressed my ardent disapproval of the removal. WholeHeart often uses milkweed as a metaphor for the way we sow seeds that germinate in the endangered, precious parts of ourselves and our communities, including democracy. There were no signs of sprouting seeds in May. A bee knocked on my window screen on June 4. When I answered her call, I saw the milkweed reaching for my windowsill in protest. I inwardly jumped for joy.
Grace told me in my meditation recently that our democracy is not totally broken. It’s in our communities for repairs. I am joyfully watching WholeHeart’s seeds take root around the globe, quietly and persistently reminding us of what we hold closest in our hearts.
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.
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.
