Genesis and That Tree

I don’t blame the snake, or Eve, or Adam for that matterEven though they certainly started quite the episodic dramaLet’s revisit the premise, shall we?First there was Light. Then God created All The Things. Then Adam, who requested Eve.For some strange reason, Adam got to be ‘in dominion’ and name all the thingsThere will be another post on what a toxic premise that is…But for today:The rules: Enjoy Paradise, but Don’t Eat the Fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & EvilWhich is very much like saying, ‘don’t think of a pink elephant’So of course the fruit is eatenThey’re cast out of the gardenHistory ensues[Herstory ensues as well, but doesn’t get nearly the market distribution]Forgive me for simplifying thisBut it seems to meIf, right now today, we don’t eat the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good & EvilWe can live in EdenAnd to the exact degree I’ve been able to implement thisI have been able to receive the world as paradiseTo the degree I refuse to believe I know what is Right and what is WrongWhen I leave that judgment to higher paygradesAnd just accept life as LifeI can walk around with innocence. Receptivity. Curiosity. Trust.And, it’s a moment, that taking the bite of the appleOne so habitual we barely notice we’re making itA moment of decision where I take what I’m seeingAnd run it through the database of past experience, perceived values, and acceptabilityThen land on “Good” or “Bad”Like Willy Wonka’s Golden Egg-dicatorAnd I often try to send experiences or people or things down the chuteThat’s when I think I’m in charge of EdenWhich does, in fact, immediately cast me out of itRidiculously, when this happens, I immediately start sketching plans to returnI write full screenplaysBut no one shows up for auditionsNo one has much interest in being supporting cast for my version of EdenSo eventually I find my way to: that is as it should beAccording to Blaise Pascal“The universe is an infinite sphere with centers everywhere and circumferences nowhere”We’re each our own precise vantage pointAnd together we’re the whole thingWe’re not supporting cast in some individual version of perfectionWe’re an intrinsic part of a perfection in dynamic expressionWhen I quit thinking I am an appropriate judge of what’s right and what’s wrong(and my personal history has proven my perceptual accuracy over time to be very low)Life is infinitely better for meIt helps me quit taking score mid-gameAnd coincides with divesting from the prefrontal cortex as the center of my experienceLetting that center retreat into the heartAnd even further into the pelvic bowlAnd from that vantage point, paradise unfolds without nameThe proverbial apple comes with a scorecard and red penAnd that, my dear friends, is no way to walk around Eden. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com