I asked Maria this morning if she knew how happy she was around Chloe, how much joy this pony has brought into her lives (and how much Joy Fate has brought into ours.) Once again, I am reminded of the power of animals to reach into our hearts, life our spirits, burnish our souls. Perhaps they are, in fact, angels that do not fly, they find forms in which to enter our lives and challenge us and teach.

Every animal driven from people is a loss for humanity, and a bleeding of Mother Earth. In the morning, Maria and Chloe meet the gate, where Red and Fate are waiting. So are the donkeys and the sheep. We all gather here, to begin our days with love and nourishment.

Some people can learn from this, but many people do not. Disconnected from the natural world and the world of animals, they turn to greed, hatred, conflict and righteousness, they put foolish labels on themselves and on others. Maria works every day to train Chloe, and I work every day to train Fate, but it is important to step back and consider who the real teachers are.

Chloe is teaching Maria to understand herself, to confront her impatience, to release her anger and wariness, to open up to trust and new experience. Fate is doing much the same for me, she reminds me every day how flawed I am, how impatient, frustrated, distracted and angry I can be. Every day, she challenges me to be better, sometimes I am better.

The horses have touched something deep inside of me and Maria, her as a spiritual human being and artist, me as a writer and animal lover. I am grateful to be a witness every day to such love and joy and meaning. We need animals in our every day lives, they can, in fact, show us how to live together in harmony and perhaps to save one another and our world.