Amare simul et sapere ipsi Iovi non datur.
(Anonymous)

It is not given to Jupiter to love and at the same time to have any sense.

pron = ah-MAH-ray SIH-mool eht SAH-peh-reh IHP-see YO-wee nohn DAH-toor.

Comment: Nor is it given to many of the rest of use to have any sense and to be in love at the same time. The energy that surges through us called passionate love tends to busy all of our other circuits, including the "sensible" ones.

I guess this is what makes Roman gods and goddesses consoling (we cannot deny it--we are still reading their stories and are still entranced with their images and symbols almost 3000 years later) to us. They are just like us. They are us.

And that's the rub here, if we wish to look. The gods of human beings are always large mirrors of themselves, large projections, if you will. Before some of you light the bonfires to toss me into, keep reading.

I am fascinated by the passive voice and what it implies here. "It is not given to Jupiter himself . . . "

Given by whom?

Despite gods of all stripes being projections of us (of this, I am confident), I am also intrigued by this some-other-force which silently and secretly seems to craft the images and symbols and stories of our gods--that we keep telling over and over and over again. It is a deep, abiding wisdom that finds its way around and through all gods and goddesses. (Genuflecting to Star Wars) this Force is Mystery. It shows us ourselves. It allows us, over and over again, to see ourselves and to choose what to do next, based on what we see.

See a god that is fickle? Wish to keep being that way?
See a god that is judgmental? Wish to keep being that way?
See a god that is harsh and unloving? Wish to keep being that way?
See a god that seems small-minded? Wish to keep being that way?

See a god . . . see ourselves. What do we wish to do, having seen?

This Force invites reflection.

May the Force be with you.