This painting is a meditation on what it means to have a contrite spirit-- a humble and open heart, surrendered before something greater. The lower portion of the canvas is shrouded in darkness and the form becomes less distinct, symbolizing the shedding of pride, ego, and the illusion of control.
The figure’s posture is one of quiet devotion: one hand open in a gesture of release or reception, the other resting gently over the heart, from which a soft, sacred glow emerges. This light is the presence of divine tenderness. It is the warmth that enters when the soul yields in sincerity.

To have a contrite spirit, to me, is to be fully present with your emotions, without resistance. It is a willingness to feel deeply, to relinquish control, and to trust that there is a divine order—an unfolding of goodness—even in moments of darkness.

"I tell you this to break your heart
By which I mean only that it break open
Never to close again to the rest of the world"
-Mary Oliver