A Process of Reconnection

The little statue of the Magdalene was a gift from my friends the artisans Marta Iris Rodriguez Olmeda and Bárbara Diaz. She has accompanied me all this time since the second Mary Magdalene Celebration back around 2011. They carve traditional Puerto Rican Wood Saints.

I sit at my desk, where I have placed materials, artwork and letters and gifts from friends. It is a sort of working altar, a place to gather my thoughts and energy.

It’s taken me some time to feel comfortable sitting here, but now it’s already a magical space. Before thinking more, I open one of my art notebooks, and draw.

I am creating a ritual where one thing leads to the next in order to weave the cord that will always lead me back to the essential work: the work that is my prayer asking to return to my soul work, to my truest self, to the person I want to become.

Today, I finished a drawing in an old, beautiful handmade notebook a friend gave me 10 years ago. Inside it contains the first drawings of the Spirits of the Forest, and some writings and poems using the alphabet I created for the book Song of the Magdalene.

I want to share a beautiful thought I captured in 2008, words by my son, Julian Nunez, a young writer and wise person since he was born:

When we asked my son what is love, he answered:

“Love is compassion, and the ties between people.”

He was only 10 years old and it seems I had just discovered that idea a few weeks before.

“El amor es compasión, y los lazos entre las personas.”

Compassion, the highest form of love, but a concept we often confuse with pity (at least in Spanish) is for me one of the lessons of the Magdalene. When I cannot meditate with gratitude in my heart, because I’m too sad or frustrated, Mary Magdalene reminds me to focus on compassion. And my heart changes.

In this process of reconnection, compassion is the principle that must guide my steps.