Oh, Child of Eden
A Hiabun
According to Webster, Eden has two meanings- the garden where, according to Genesis, Adam and Eve first lived, and a place of pristine or abundant natural beauty.
Depending on one’s beliefs, both are places we desire — one to return to, the other to be part of.
Personally, I believe Eden is also a state of mind that brings inner tranquility. It is an idea that represents beauty, a state of mind that is a blissful harmony between mind and body.
I also believe it’s possible that when we are born, we leave Eden to come into the world. Once in this world, nature, in all its beauty, reminds us of where we began and where we will end. Everything else is either a temptation or an opportunity.
Temptations to throw us off our paths or opportunities to find our way home. Living is about aging but also about learning and growing as a person. We can grow into our best selves or our worst. Or, we can sit idly by and squander the gift.
The choices, opportunity over temptation or temptation over opportunity, are nothing more than a series of trade-offs that shape and mold us into the life we call ours.
Ultimately, we choose both, leaving the proposition of life to come down to a score- temptation v. opportunity.
