I think I’ve spent more time seeking to open up in the past few years than almost anything else except writing and taking photos. The process of opening up is essential any notion of a spiritual life. You open and open and open again. And  then you open again.

To love. To friendship. To teachers and learning. To safety. To new experience. To growth and to change. To the reality of your life, and your place in the world. To changing the story of your life, if necessary. To trust. To safety. To faith. To intimacy. To  responsibility. If you live with Maria, you will open up. Our relationship was all about opening up and of course, so is any kind of love about that. Hard, good work. A year or so ago, I went to the Mary Muncil, the minister and spiritual counselor and  blogger who married Maria and I, and I told her I wanted a spiritual life. Since then, we have been on a remarkable journey together, and it is not over yet. It may just be beginning.

The reason I love photographing Maria and the donkeys is that the photographs speak of opening. Opening of the hearts, human and animal. I have lived with the donkeys for a number of years, but I never saw anything like the opening up of Maria to Lulu and Fanny, and their opening  in return. I see it every day and what a joy that is.  Theirs is a connection palpable enough to almost touch, and surely to see. So I’m putting up some photos to celebrate the challenge of opening up. May it never cease.

Friday, I’m  heading to Woodstock to speak at the Woodstock Writer’s Festival (tickets required). I’m looking forward to it.