Donkeys can teach you a lot about meditating. I brought some apple wafers outside and stood out in the cold with the donkeys, and we were just quiet together. And when I meditate, I can see my mind work, see how it rushes from one thing to another, and I am acquiring this remarkable gift to teach  my mind to quiet down, and be in the moment, and be present, and be happy for the many wonderful things I have right now. The message of the donkeys to me is acceptance, and calm and their genius for accepting the immediate reality of their lives. Donkeys do not, I think, worry about the future, fear death, harber grudges, brood over slights. Calm is infectious.

And I thought this:

When people label you, challenge them. Label yourself.

When people marginalize you, affirm yourself. Create something.

When people discourage you, encourage yourself.

Fear is infectious. Build boundaries between fear and you.

Fear is a choice. A space.

Tell your story in any way that works for you.

Thoreau said he would rather take a walk in the woods than be invited to a thousand parties.

Me too.