Different

The Angalamman Festival is celebrated each year in a town called Kaveripattinam in Tamil Nadu.

Devotees, numbering in tens of thousands, converge in this town the day after Maha Shivratri to

worship the deity Angalamman, meaning 'The Guardian God'. During the festival some of the

worshippers paint their faces that personifies Goddess Kali. Other indulge in the ritual of

piercing iron rods through their cheeks.

Just how different might we be in our varied cultures? There are bizarre differences, of course, and then there are all the similarities.  We care about each other, we care about our children and hope to see them healthy and safe and well equipped; we hope for peace and a good life for all.

Breathtaking pictures by National Geographic contributors and others give us a brief look into a different world. How might we relate across such a divide?

And ... how many places and people are there that would be just stunning to see and know?

Perhaps an interesting question for us all, is our view of 'the world' big enough?  Does it include these who might be so different from us? And if God so loved 'the world', does that suggest we might need to do anything differently? 

Is the fact that we're different a problem?

I suspect we'd be surprised how many things we have in common with these interesting folks.