Meditations on “Annunciation” seen in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Walking through the Uffizi Gallery last month in Florence, I was stopped in awe by the sight of the “Annunciation” by Leonardo da Vinci. In heavenly shades of pink and blue the painter’s delicate yet carefully structured style illustrates the moment Mary is receiving the message that she is to bear a son—and not just any son--she is to bear the Son of God! The angel kneels before Mary, gently poised as if about to take wing. Mary is shown quiet, calm, and deep in thought. The space between Mary and the angel seems charged with portent, both dividing and joining the two figures.
What struck me about this beautiful painting is Mary’s serene composure in the face of such momentous news. The first time I learned that I was pregnant, I felt elated, pleased, and excited. I also felt a moment of panic. How could I, I wondered, after a few short months, deliver a complete, miniature human being from my own body? I experienced The Call to do something beyond anything I had ever accomplished and I was bewildered, confused, and scared. Well, in due time all came to pass. And I was turned inside out by the experience. After a while I began creating mandalas, and life gradually took on a deeply meaningful new rhythm.
We all receive The Call when we are challenged by life to respond with abilities we may not even know we possess. Hidden in our unconscious, accessible by untried neural pathways, we have not yet claimed these abilities as part of our self-awareness. Carl Jung wrote about this unconscious part of our psyche as a matrix of potentials which we are drawn to discover and live out. Life calls us to this inner work. We respond in our own way. We may lean into trust of the mysterious human wisdom imprinted in our mind/body. Or we may respond out of terror or disgust at the strange call we receive. We may fight the message, or shape it to our own grandiose ends, disowning the mystery from which it emerges. Those who perpetrate violence and terroristic acts may be responding from their fear of an unfamiliar call. Most of us rise to the challenge, discover and use hidden strengths, and in the process become more humble, creative, tolerant, wise, and loving: in short, better human beings.
How will you respond the next time you get The Call?
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