Addiction II

Written by thehouseofvines

O Dionysos Akmē,
hear me Meilichiē,
my precious Amethystos,
who has been with me through the bad
and the good both, and is with me even now;
God who saves, Lord who releases,
bestower of sober intoxication,
you who cause our spirits to leap in ecstasy
when you are near, I beseech you to continue
to stand with me as I face this trial,
and confront the monster within me.
Where craving rises, grant me fortitude.
What stumbling blocks there be, may I sidestep them.
When I feel weak, kindle steady strength in my breast.
Teach me the balance between freedom and restraint,
that I may not be ruled by what I consume,
since you demand that your people submit
to none but you, O ferocious Father Freedom.
Turn my longing toward life, not escape,
and guide me gently back to myself,
Labyrinthodespotēs and Maiandrios,
and in your overflowing generosity
help me to be whole again,
and deal with the pain at the heart of it all,
so I don’t feel the constant need to fill the chasm,
or to numb myself.
Rejoice, Dionysos—
and be gracious.

6 thoughts on “Addiction II”

  1. Wow….this strikes close to my current situation. My “addiction” is to a socially ingrained belief and a fear Mother transmitted to me in utero.

    “… I beseech you to continue
    to stand with me as I face this trial,
    and confront the monster within me.
    Where craving rises, grant me fortitude.
    What stumbling blocks there be, may I sidestep them.
    When I feel weak, kindle steady strength in my breast.
    Teach me the balance between freedom and restraint,
    that I may not be ruled by what I consume…”

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    1. Thanks. I wanted it to be about addiction itself, not just the obvious alcoholism or drug abuse. We all have things we struggle with, which seek to steal our autonomy, which the Lord of Freedom can help us with.

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      1. Thank you. “Addiction I” reads differently to me now when I read it from the perspective of things that I struggle with that leach on my autonomy.

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          1. Indeed, They are…one might even write a song ….How Great Thou Art…

            As you know, I am not a acolyte of Dionysos. May I modify this prayer for the Gods I serve?

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            1. Absolutely! I’m engaging in bricolage myself (sometimes adapting a single line, sometimes taking a whole prayer and adding Dionysian elements to it, and sometimes just using the subject matter as inspiration and creating something entirely original) which is what religious specialists have been doing for thousands of years. It’s fun to watch formulae travel across regions and through religions over the span of hundreds if not thousands of years. (For instance “W is to my left, X is to my right, Y in front of me and Z behind [or above] me,” or “blood to blood, bone to bone, etc.”) It’s even more fun when you can’t find a direct line of continuity between prayers or spells separated by centuries and languages.

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