We Greet Thee, Mary

This (Ia Orana Maria by Paul Gauguin) was the painting of the day in my Metropolitan Museum of Art calendar last Friday. I was struck by its raw beauty and kept it up through the weekend because I liked it so much. It turns out it's one of my grandmother's favorite paintings too!

I just love this portrayal of the Virgin and Child... colorful, vibrant, and decidedly non-European. And the only things that set them apart from the women who greet them are their halos (and, perhaps, the style of Maria's dress - random or meant to communicate chastity?) I feel like this is how I should search for divinity in my life; taking notice of the subtle traces among commonplace people just like me. I guess that means I should be ready to greet everyone, just as the women in this picture, and also be ready to see God in them.