The Second in a Series   How Baby Lights Are Made Can WeTalk (...About Our Beliefs)? Well hi there! I know, it hasn't been a month yet, since my last newsletter. I just wanted to try to get back 'on schedule'... and I wanted to finish the conversation we were having last month.... er, two weeks ago. (You know how it is as you get older - if you don't finish what you start in a timely fashion, you just might forget what you were doing....) For those of you who might have missed last month (or those who forget things quickly), I had been writing of conversations regarding spiritual or religious beliefs - how willing are we to share our thoughts - and under what conditions? I'd been sent a video link by a friend that suggested that Oprah Winfrey's beliefs were un- or anti- Christian. I watched the video, and rather than being angered, I was uplifted. I worried about how to talk to my friend about our differences. At first I thought I'd just not mention it - we'd let it go. But the Universe is big on getting me to face my issues, and it let me practice on this one with my good buddy. (Note about the art in this newsletter: I'm subjecting you to more fractals - art generated by triangles and math, believe it or not. The program used to create the art you see here is free - it's called "Apophysis" and you can download it from the web at no charge. To begin each section, I'll post an 'original' image, and then in celebration of the dualities of life and the yin/yang of the world, I will post the inversion of the image. Both are beautiful, in my eyes, and both started from the same 'kernel of truth'... but demonstrate how just a couple of changes can completely re-interpret an image, and evoke a totally different response in the viewer.) (Further note: The links that I include at the bottom of each 'section' will take you to flower art, in honor of the Spring that has finally sprung! In other words, click on them, and you'll get to see something besides fractals ;-) Now... on with the show! Magenta Flame   Walking Roads of Understanding My friend called and asked what I though of the email she'd sent to me. I gulped, said a quick prayer for guidance, and said that I'd been kind of surprised that she'd sent it to me. She laughed, and said she knew I 'believed differently'. Did I believe in Heaven? I told her. Did I believe in Hell? I told her. Did I believe in reincarnation? I told her. And then I asked her what SHE believed. She believes in the bible, and in Jesus as her Savior. But, she says, she's got friends who are gay. "That doesn't really bother me, I guess", she said. "It doesn't matter where ya put your parts." I laughed, delighted in the way she'd put it. She then said she has a neighbor who says she's a witch. My friend said, "We just talk about other things." How cool! She's got her beliefs, and they're strong... but they're not necessarily exclusive. They don't automatically shut out someone who believes differently. She's practicing the tolerance that her religion promotes. We finished our conversation knowing far more about each other than we did when we started. I felt we had become closer because of our exchange. Mom's Pink Impatien... Baby Lights Inversion   Whirlwind Sunrise Bridges Beat Barriers I was warmed by our talk, and uplifted by the fact that we could share differing belief systems without turmoil or judgment. I called my beautiful aunt to share my excitement, and to see if she thought it would be too controversial for me to address the subject in that month's newsletter. We talked of my exuberance over having shared something so intimate, but in a respectful, loving way. I said I didn't want to discuss my beliefs, per se, in the newsletter - but to ask my readers if they had examined their own beliefs in the light of adulthood. I said I wasn't going to try to convert anybody to my way of thinking - that I merely wanted to ask folks if they were willing to discuss this most personal issue - and if so, when, and under what conditions. I left for work that day exhilarated by the morning's exchanges. Elemental Blues....   Mulling Things Over I thought about my topic choice for the newsletter. I thought about it some more. And then a couple of weeks passed. I thought perhaps I might write about something else. Something less 'provocative'. Something less divisive. Something less volatile. And then I had coffee and an aha! moment with another friend, and the experience convinced me to go ahead and 'risk' being open and inquisitive. To practice the same tolerance I had seen in my friend, and a willingness to 'own' my beliefs out loud (or in type, as the case may be). Nature's Fireworks... Whirlwind Inversion   Windswept Christmas Tree No Man is an Island (Except on Sunday...) I traveled to a friend's house for coffee. My friend is a delightful soul, full of light and possessing an open warmth that drew me to her right away, when we met several years ago. She's the type of friend where you can have long periods apart, and you just pick right back up when you next see each other, as if not a day had passed since you'd last spoken to each other. She and I were talking about my proposed newsletter subject, and she immediately chimed in with her thoughts, delighting me with her willingness to share. (Note: I'm deliberately not naming names here - I don't ever want my friends to think they - or their privacy - are being compromised by my insane intent to include them in my monthly musings.) My friend mentioned how her beliefs had changed from when she'd been younger. Yet, though her beliefs changed, it didn't mean that the church she attended had changed - or that she was now attending a different one. She said, "I'll sit in that pew on Sunday and wonder whether I'd be thrown out as a hypocrit, if the folks around me knew what I really believed. Sometimes I feel so alone." I sighed with her. "You mean, the place where you're supposed to feel unity, and togetherness and brotherly love, is actually making you feel separate, and apart?" Red Hot Poppy....   Would You Take the Risk? Now, I know there are some of you who are thinking, "Well, she's just going to the wrong church. She needs to change congregations!" Perhaps she should. Or not. There are lots of things (and people) who keep her going to her current place of worship. I thought about what she'd shared - her sense of aloneness, and separateness. It hit me, anew. Perhaps there were others in that room-of-God who were feeling just as different, alone and cut-off as my friend. Folks who were just as sure they'd be culled from the rest, if their true beliefs were to be known. Perhaps there were others drifting down that same river - and all that was missing was the knowledge that they were not alone. But folks are so loathe to share their thoughts sometimes. You take a risk when you share something that personal. You risk offending someone who beliefs are different. You risk losing a friendship, perhaps. You risk learning that someone you love might think you're a bit nutso. You risk upsetting your wee, little boat. That's why so few people are willing to sit down and share a conversation on this subject. But what do you stand to gain, if you are willing to take that risk?! So much - so very much more. Take that risk, folks. See where it might lead you! Watercolor Lilac-Style Windswept Tree In Snow   Rhythm Seen Baby Steps and Big Leaps of Faith By taking the risk of sharing something so integral to who you are, you open yourself, and your heart, to the light of the world. If you share your thoughts with respect and love, you may well be surprised at how very similar your thoughts are to those you thought of as different. The key, I think, is the word "respect". You need to be willing to understand that just because someone believes differently than you, it doesn't mean they are wrong, or that you are right. Sometimes the best outcome is an agreement to disagree. But sometimes, there is a bonding that strengthens ones support system. Sometimes, there is a lessening of that 'apartness'. Sometimes... you learn you aren't so very alone. Daisy Wet   In The Spirit of Friendship I got a lovely email the other day. Leigh, a reader, wanted to share her friend's creative journey - and website - with me. She wrote, "Deb, I enjoy your newsletter each month and your stories about how you continue to grow as an artist. I want to tell you about my friend Lisa Rowley who, just shy of 50 years old began to take her art seriously enough to think about sharing it with others and seeing whether she can make some sort of living out of her paintings. A very low-tech person, Lisa spent a good part of last year trying to figure out how to get a web site done, how to make high resolution electronic images of her watercolors, and all about the process of making fine print reproductions. I am so proud of her and want to let others know about her � would you take a look at her work and if you feel moved to do so, mention it to your readers or give her some positive feedback. www.lisarowley.com " Well, dear readers, I went to Lisa's website, and loved loved loved what I found there. Color, light, composition, movement and beauty - all on an easy-to-navigate site. Please take a look at Lisa's site, if you get a chance. The link is below, if'n ya wanna click it. Leigh, thank you for your email, and for your friendly support of Lisa's efforts and art. Lisa, thank YOU for taking that artistic leap, and the inspiration you provide the rest of us. If you know of a site that you adore, and you'd like to have it featured in this newsletter, please let me know about it. Lisa's Lyrical Link... Rhythm, Inverted   At the Heart of It All More Light, Please As I've expressed here before - it's the connections that we make in this life that make the journey worthwhile. If we can deepen those connections by sharing ourselves with others, then we've made the ride more enjoyable. Someone who shares herself honestly, and delightfully, is Terri St. Cloud of Bonesigh Arts. She has beautiful art, and a beautiful heart, and she's loved by many. You can see her work by going to www.bonesigharts.com - please do yourself a favor and check the site often. Her talented sons are always updating and refreshing it. Another new-but-instant friend is Christie Pennington of TheLightspeakers.com. I was lucky enough to meet her, her lovely daughter, and her trusty chauffeur, Pat at an Orion event earlier this month, held by my friend Elisabeth Fitzhugh. Christie is a delight - a beautiful soul who is willing to share her thoughts and unique perspective, on her website. Please check out her work by clicking the link below. The Lightspeakers   Th-th-th-that's All for Now, Folks! I had someone who wanted to unsubcribe last month. They wrote me and said they'd tried to use the "unsubscribe link" at the end of the newsletter, as I'd instructed. To no avail, apparently. So they wrote and asked that I'd take their email off my subscriber list. I did so, quickly, and with no ill-feelings. If you want to unsubscribe, please click that link. And if it doesn't work, please write me at deb@differentlightstudio.com and I'll do it for you. I promise. Hopefully, you have enjoyed my doofy newsletters and my photography and art, and you don't want to miss an edition, ever. Hopefully, you'll continue on this journey with me, dear readers. And if you think you know someone who might also enjoy the newsletter, please, please, please - pass it along to them, with my compliments. It's free, it's only once a month, and it's never dull or negative. Until next month, dear readers, think about your beliefs, and your willingness to share them with others. Can you do it? Can you hold a discussion with respect and a willingness to listen to another's beliefs? Please continue to send up some prayers and good thoughts for my parents, who are in a really rough stretch right now. I truly appreciate the supportive emails I've received from you. You are the best! In recognition of Mother's Day, and in gratitude for the many bringers-of-light in my life - to my mom, who made "sharing" a life-long, enduring lesson; to Bree, who delights my heart, and who lights the way by touching the future as a teacher of the next generation; to Kitty who inspires and supports; to Susy who has loved me through thick and thin (literally and figuratively); to Ann, who continues to grow; to Elisabeth, who listens and counsels with love; to Lynn and Kim, my sisters-in-life-and-friends-of-the-heart; to all of you - those whom I know, and those I've yet to meet - you have my gratitude and love. Ripples in the Pond of Life Inversion of the Heart

Different Light Studio • 1249 Lyndhurst Road • Waynesboro • VA • 2298

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