For the third year in a row, we are opening our farm and some of our lives to the world. The Bedlam Farm Open House. A gorgeous fall, the leaves are rioting here.  So many people warned me against doing this, and for so many reasons. They assured me I would regret it, I never have.

I am ever grateful we chose to have our Open Houses. The idea of openness has become a seminal part of my life in recent years. Nobody is or should be totally open – there are many facets of my life with Maria that do not appear on my blog or in my books.

But openness is bigger than that for me. Openness meant permitting love to come into my life and accepting the great risk of intimacy. This brought me Maria. Openness meant accepting Frieda and learning to love her. Openness meant making friends, permitting myself to be vulnerable in front of other people. Openness meant opening up to a spiritual life, to new ideas, to things I did not understand, even feared.

it meant being open to the idea that what was happening to the New York Carriage Horses and the people who live and work with them was unjust.

Openness meant accepting Simon when he was taken off of his farm, it meant being open to Karen Thompson’s idea that Red was a dog that the forces of the universe meant for me to have. It meant starting my blog, my Facebook page.  It meant accepting change, not just whining about it. Openness for me meant being open to the idea that I needed to leave the first Bedlam Farm, move to a different farm, lead a different kind of love. I wanted a home that was both Maria’s and mine, not just mine, and we found one.

I am more open than ever now to other ideas, different kinds of people. Openness has helped squeeze the anger and fear out of my life, it is a process that is never truly completely, a work underway.

When I open the farm to people – friends and strangers – I am opening myself to trust, I am sharing the bounty of my life, I am connecting with other human beings in the most meaningful way. It is a gift to me to see how much people love my farm, the dogs, sweet Simon, Maria and her art. This farm is not majestic like the first one, it is simple, small classic old farm. It fits me and Maria like a glove. This ought to be shared, it gives pleasure to others, to me, to us.

Everyone tells me we will have a big crowd this weekend, perhaps so, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. I love seeing Maria show off and sell her wonderful works in the Schoolhouse Studio, her palace, and I love showing the world how Red works so wonderfully with sheep. It absolutely lifts my heart to see how happy and healthy Simon is, how much he loves the attention he will get.

And I love doing this all with Maria, the greatest gift of my opening up. Beyond all this, there is my own life to celebrate. This year, I opened to the idea that I needed help, I was struggling. It saved my life. I was only a walk or two away from not being at this Open House at all, or at any other. As the cardiologist told me, the good news is that I am not dead.

Good news indeed, and it imbues the Bedlam Farm Open House – getting underway Saturday morning at ll a.m. – with a special richness and urgency for me. My broken heart has been healing as quickly as possible. I am more than ready, I am grateful for every person that I see. Open House, Open Life, Open Heart.