Back then, we fully believed that these were wild donkeys.  From an adult perspective, I now realize that they were domesticated for the pulling of heavy loads.  But they were not accustomed to human riders, and that is exactly what my siblings and I were determined to do. 

We would lurk behind the trees, waiting for some unsuspecting donkey to wander close enough for us to lunge.  If you lunged quick enough, you could land on the donkey's back.  Immediately the donkey would take off in a focused attempt to knock you from its back with a low-hanging branch, and often was successful.  However if you could hang on long enough and tight enough, the donkey would soon slow back down to a walk.  Unshaken, the rider was accepted, and they would revert to their donkey business, most of which was just wandering from tree to tree sampling the sweet fruit.  Learning from the donkeys, we would snatch a pomegranate from a passing branch, and squirt the sweet juices into our mouthes as we lazily toured every nook and cranny of the orchard. 

When it comes to handling life's challenges, I like to take instruction from the donkeys.  When first confronted with the challenge of a human child, the donkeys would do their best to lose their burden.  When it became apparent that the burden was inevitable, they accepted the burden.  They continued to take the next step, accepting what each now-moment offered them, including the fruits of life along with the burdens. 

In their simple donkey-brains, they knew how to face a challenge.  You keep moving and accept.