Magdalene

  Magdalene
 
 
 
She opens her jar and looks out
            at the passersby.
 
She offers balm
            and perfume
            to sooth weary souls. 
 
Her face is beautiful – young, lively,
            compassionate.
 
Her sculpted hair spills out over
            the folds of her mantle.
 
She moves forward on one foot,
            eternally ready to serve
            the God in everyone.

I took this photo in Barcelona, Spain at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya which has an amazing collection of medieval art This picture makes the Magdalene come alive for me.  It is almost as if she is offering me some comfort as she leans forward with her jar. We are all in need of comfort -- a little TLC, someone to tell us to "just put up your feet, don't worry about anything, I will take care of it for you."  Our complicated lives don't even offer us much time to comfort ourselves. We need rethink the situation -- to stop the spinning wheel of responsibility and pressure that whirls us around like hamsters inside the invisible cage of responsibilities and other people's demands. Sometimes, we have to say "just stop.... this is my time!! It's time for me to take a breath and do what is best for me." It is hard to do, but we owe it to ourselves to put up the boundaries so we can began living instead of treading.