Every morning, a deepening spiritual practice, this morning more than ever, a healing time, a time of connection, trust, love and communication. The donkeys are deeply spiritual creatures, every morning they gather by the barn and wait for us, they stand still, hardly seeming to even breathe, they are expectant, patient, still, past food, past their quarreling and butting. They sense our need, and it becomes theirs. We connect in a timeless way, our pastor is Maria, the point of connection for all of us, the open person, her emotions coming through her hands, her smell, her brush. The ritual is entrenched. We come to the gate with a carrot for each, an offering. We come to the barn the barn and they follow.

We muck out the barn, tidy the stalls, check on the water, and then we all gather in the opening of the Pole barn, the donkeys line up, they cluster, they lean in and there is absolute stillness, a transfer of feeling, a beautiful thing. This morning was special, I am putting up a photo album on Facebook.