Photojournalist Connie Bickman Grace just doesn’t happen overnight. There are often some growing pains along the way. Some of those growing pains can occur when you least expect them - like a stark, unabashed lesson of compassion from a ten year old ani in a monastery in Nepal who said she only needed one pair of shoes - leave her old ones for someone who has none... “To understand yourself is to have compassion for everything,” another young Buddhist ani stated. That remark changed photographer Connie Bickman’s life, and compassion became her mantra. As she traveled around the world she discovered that no matter where we are, how we dress, what color, shape or gender we are or what our spiritual beliefs are, deep down, we are all one. We grow in our hearts as we accept the diversity of our Mother earth and her people and honor the differences that make us whole. Connie has won regional and international awards for her photography and writing. In 1998 she sold her portrait studio, where she had been photographing children, families, seniors and weddings for 15 years, so she could devote more time to traveling. Although she continues to travel, she has come full circle, and, by request, is again making portraits. Her passion for travel has brought her to far corners of the earth, over 35 underdeveloped countries, in search of adventure and the opportunity to photograph and document native cultures, the environment and humanitarian issues. She has been published internationally in many books and magazines. Connie shares her encounters with women, men and children from around the world through images and stories collected as she explored this passion for travel, photography and writing. The first edition of her book, "Tribes of Woman," won the 1999 Jeanette Fair Tau State Minnesota Women’s Writer Award. It was republished in 2001 by New World Library as "Tribe of Women," focusing on the spiritual aspect of her journeys, including encounters with bush doctors in Belize, shaman in the Amazon jungles of Peru and Aboriginal elders in Australia. "Tribe of Women" shares the joys and sorrows of women from many walks of life, through strong photography (over 200 color photographs) and compassionate storytelling. She recently published "The Many Faces of Vietnam" (160 pages and over 200 photographs), and is working on several other books of her travels. For 11 years Connie was the publisher/editor of newly retired Turtle River Press, a publication of spiritual and creative energy. She freelances photography and writing assignments and is the creative director of Children's Culture Connection, a non-profit advocate for 12 international children's charities. Mother of three daughters and grandmother of five granddaughters, Connie lives with her cat, Ghinsu, in a 100-year-old farm house, surrounded by nature, in rural Minnesota. Her email is cbickman@frontiernet.net. (photo by Bob Thornburg)