Dionysus, a Living Force
I did this to myself. I uncorked the thought a few weeks ago that I might take Dionysus with me as I wandered wine country of northern California before turning west and north to make my way up the Pacific Coast. In truth, I spent little time in wine country. The craggy coast and ancient redwoods had more pull than the wine. But Dionysus was with me all the same, and I have been wayward in his spell for weeks. The reasons could not be clear until I began writing this note. But Pascal was there, too, chanting, luring, lulling: The heart has reasons unknown to reason.1
Dionysus is the god of many names: god of wine; god of the vine; god of ecstasy and of sorrow; chaos and madness; tragedy and healing. God of death. God of renewal. God of in-betweenness and of two natures. Son of a god and son of a human.
And he has something to show us still today. Only, we may not know it. Or maybe we choose not to know it. It would be easier that way. We could coast along. Keep same the same and never lo…