SHELBURNE – “The unknown is where all outcomes are possible; enter it with grace.” That was the wisdom on my Yogi tea bag this morning. I sipped and sat with Grace as I welcomed the positive possibilities of the day. A few I could name. Most would be a surprise.
A hummingbird hovered outside my window, savoring a thistle’s nectar. Her seemingly iridescent wings stirred up enough breeze to help a neighboring flower release a puff of fluff. A monarch butterfly joined the feast. It was a magical moment.
Grace is fond of reminding me to look for positive possibilities. She introduced me to Louis Pasteur who said that chance favors the prepared mind. Vincent Harding invited me to love myself and others into new possibilities. Many have speculated that chaos creates opportunity. There is an abundance of positive possibilities in these chaotic times.
People are increasingly, peacefully and respectfully organizing to protest in favor of peace, democracy and reproductive rights. Others are feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and helping their neighbors with flood recovery and remediation. We are mentoring children and reading to the elderly.
The Vermont Community Leadership Network, hosted by the Vermont Council on Rural Development, recently convened a virtual discussion on nonprofit collaboration in Vermont. Fifty women and six men shared our community collaborations and connections across disciplines. It reminded me of the book I was reading: the 2025 Edition of “Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of The Climate Crisis,” by Dr. Samatha Montano.
Part memoir and part well-researched guide, Samantha begins her story as a 16-year-old in Maine who volunteered to go to New Orleans to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina. The experience changed her life. She now holds a Ph.D. in emergency management and is an assistant professor at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. She is the co-founder of the Center for Climate Adaptation Research. In her book, she chronicles how we sow the seeds of natural disasters and fail miserably as a country to manage the damage. Her hope lies in local and regional community collaboration before the next disaster. July flooding in Texas provided a painful picture of her point. The American Red Cross is taking her advice as they rebrand and invest in preparedness in addition to disaster response.
Preparedness is a key precursor to manifesting positive possibilities. The thistle outside my window germinated from a seed from my neighbor’s bird feeder. My botanist mother told me that weeds with beautiful flowers aren’t weeds, they are “volunteers.” Water them by volunteering in your community. Show up with the gift of Graceful Mischief for the Common Good. Imagine the positive possibilities.
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.
