Dru Roessle, of Danville, Vermont, brings deep insight to the WholeHeart board of directors and beyond. She works as a facilitator of groups and teams problem-solving some of society’s most intractable problems. Dru centers relational justice in the spaces she engages in, believing that we already have what we need to create just systems that are designed for care, reciprocity, and collective well-being. Enjoy this provocative, inspiring interview!
On the eve of a full moon, WholeHeart launched its newest program series, Poetry As Portal, featuring Julie Cadwallader Staub, a poet from South Burlington, Vt. More than 40 participants gathered on Zoom, March 25th, to participate in the event, part-poetry reading, part-conversation with the poet, and part-listening exercise for attendees to reflect upon their own lives.
What does it mean to live one’s life like a prayer? Heather Omand, of Huntington, Vt., is pioneering a different human way of being in the world as a Queer person, mother, partner, and caretaker of agricultural lands. Read about their insightful journey. Listen to their prose, “What Queerness Means to Me.”
What does it mean to be in deeper relationship with the land where one lives? Three friends spent last summer wandering in the mountains of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, coming to know the plants/medicines growing on the land, preparing meals with the foods harvested, and learning to navigate the wind and waves off the coast of Maine. This story encapsulates some of their heartfelt insights gained.
Marianne Mullen, of Middlesex, is a Vermont artist who draws inspiration from the complexities of being human. One of her paintings is the featured artwork for this year’s Valentines of Gratitude, WholeHeart’s January-February scholarship fundraiser. Learn more about how this WholeHeart community member uses her art creation as a spiritual practice.
WholeHeart Board President, Trish Alley, offers her poetry and well wishes as she dives deeply into a three month leave of absence to focus on her writing.
New Year Blessing for WholeHeart
May you shine with the brilliance of the full moon
and bring light into the cold darkness.
May you always reflect beauty and warmth—
I’m what you would call a typical morning person. My energy peaks before noon. For night-owls, this behavior is a total mystery. I’m equally in awe of those who are able to have intellectual conversations after 9 o’clock pm. I prefer watching the sun rise. Ideas flow easily pre-dawn, and I treasure the spaciousness of uninterrupted time when most people are still sleeping. Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a new trend: my body is wanting more rest. The sun is rising later too. At first, I resisted this idea. I’m a morning person after all! I need that time for sipping coffee and puttering to begin my day. I feel rushed without it. When I open my eyes, the message is clear. Go back to sleep. I feel a tension, as I also hear: There’s so much to do! The end of the year is coming! Holidays are here! You’re wasting time.
December's Invitation: Living Courage - "a practice for integrating courage & heart into our daily lives"
The super moon kept me awake for nights, inviting me to listen deeply. I am still searching for words, still asking questions. I want conclusions, answers, and happy endings, but that is not what I am finding.
I begin each month sending out an email to everyone who has been a part of one the Circles of Trust I facilitate. I call it Living Courage. It is a practice that calls me to the task of listening and keeping in alignment with WholeHeart’s tag line: “living on the learning edge.” Here is my reflection and experience with the Courage Principle: “An appreciation of paradox enriches our lives and helps us hold greater complexity.”
Each day, the breaking news breaks us. And often not open, but into despair, disbelief and fear. There is much to be done, and mending what is closest to us is a place to begin to re-imagine hope.
This summer, a group of community members gathered on Tuesday mornings in Greensboro, Vermont for a WholeHeart Community Conversation called “Hope Reimagined.”
The word “leadership” can cover some tricky territory, inviting the questions: what makes a leader? Who are leaders? Is there a leadership club that requires certain qualities to belong?
Our Intergenerational Leadership Exchanges welcomes emerging and experienced leaders. We focus on leadership at the human being level, grounded in the belief that we are all we are all leaders of our own lives. Together, across generational perspectives and areas of interest, we make up the essential elements of our communities.
On September 30th, we will hold our third Exchange. Each gathering has a unique focus, inviting people to return each season or to come for the first time. This fall our focus and guide is the land itself at the Green Mountain Monastery.
