It's autumn and the quakies outside my window are turning yellow. The holly berries on the bush are a lovely orange and the world is hurtling toward winter. Lots of other things are hurtling places too. Many people I love are hurting. One friend's husband is dying--another friend had a stroke and her husband is dying of cancer as well. One set of friends is struggling with emotional connections and the possibility of separation. Another friend has a neurological illness. Two people are having amputations--a foot and an ear. Meanwhile, life goes on.

My grandkids are healthy and growing, the world is beautiful, and people are kind to one another. Problems do get solved. However, I'm struck with the ideas of light and dark in our lives. I'm thinking of the art term, chiaroscuro which I think means a distinct and sharp contrast of light and shadow, disregarding color. Jana, our watercolor-expert-painter-advisor told us, "Color doesn't matter. It's value." Value is light and dark. I'm working on trying to get value into my paintings. It's hard work and I'm not good at it. However, the connection through painting is making me aware of how difficult it is to get "value" right in my life.

This brings to mind that maybe getting this balance between light and dark is a difficult process in life as well as painting. Bad things will keep happening to good people. Good things will happen to bad people. The world isn't a particularly fair place. And yet, it is fair in some ways.

We all want light in our lives. God is described as light, and I love that description and believe it is true. However, I'm reminded of the old Chinese saying (at least I think it's Chinese), "All sunshine makes only desert." My life is certainly not a desert. There are plenty of dark places and worries poking around the sunshine. I just have to keep my balance.