Garden of Eden 3

[Soil & Land - IV]

We all leave a Garden of Eden. Think about it.

The epitome of health, security, and love is the floating oasis that is a mother’s womb. Even under the most extreme challenges, a mother’s body compensates and gives to the health of the little one growing inside her. And then birth, a traumatic exit from the womb and into the dry, aggressive realities of the world.

In a way Adam and Eve were traumatically birthed out of Eden—into the harsh realities of an imperfect world. Like a newborn, they began dying the moment they left.

But my tradition says the story continues. God promises another womb to the descendants of Adam and Eve. God promises a new land that flows with milk and honey. In other words, God promises a new womb-like garden reality.

Eden and its aftermath is not so much a story inviting historical analysis. What’s important is that it is universally true: new life always requires death, struggle, and hardship. Everything begins in a Garden of Eden, a womb of sorts, goes through death and hardship, and experiences new life.

Death is never the end. Gardens teach us this. Soil teaches us this. Life teaches us this.