The Root of All Evil

If there were no evil in the world would we have heaven on Earth?
Perhaps.
Would you settle for the Garden of Eden on Earth?

Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden they were naked. That was fine. They were innocent. The only thing God told them not to do was eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As long as they did not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they could stay in the Garden of Eden. Then they did eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Well of course they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because that is human nature. Suddenly they were ashamed because they were naked. Well that came out of left field. Even if you had newly invented the concept of "good and bad" the concept of "naked" had to be invented too. And since clothes hadn't been invented yet, naked as a concept is really a stretch. There is your evidence that someone messed with this story somewhere along the line.

So the real issue here is that the concepts of "good" and "bad" have been unleashed on the world.  
This kind of judgement in the hands of humans spells the end of the Garden of Eden. Now we have the ability to pronounce judgements.  Moods were no longer just moods, they were good moods and bad moods. Actions were no longer just actions they were good actions or bad actions. People were no longer just people they became good people and bad people.  We get good guys and bad guys and that gives us the right to punish people. Then we start to see whole groups of people as good like us or bad not like us. We invent us verses them, and its a hop, skip, and a jump to war.

What makes something good or bad is all in our heads. See, in the Garden of Eden things just were. There were no good trees. There were no bad trees. The trees were just trees until judging made them so.

Next weeks lecture: Cain and Able; how changing from a hunter gatherer society to a settled agricultural society made everything even worse

Memory, Blessing or Curse

I have been gifted with an excellent long term memory. I have to work a little harder at short term memory but once something gets into long term RAM it is likely there to stay.

This ability has served me well in school and work. I believe memory is a major component of one's IQ. The fact that I can remember the point in the lecture when the professor talked about the question on the test and I can visualize the page in the book that contains the answer makes test taking a breeze compared to the student who must study content to commit it to memory.  However, memory may also be an important factor in depression.

I remember many things about my childhood that others involved, such as friends and family, do not. Emotionally charged situations are easier for most people to remember, but for me they can be a source of circular thoughts that characterize a period of depression. I remember bad decisions made long ago and relive them over and over. I think about hurtful situations reliving them in my head. I can remember good things too but my brain chemistry tends to focus on the bad.

So focusing on good things is good practice for me. This blog has made it clear that I am not very good at it.
I remember times around the crowded dinner table of my childhood when we laughed until we cried.
I remember playing outside until mom rang the cowbell calling us to dinner.
I remember walking to various parks and enjoying the flowers and the trees.
I remember going to the swimming pool just about every day of the summer.
I remember grandma and Catherine hosting family picnics at Rainbow Beach.
I remember the Christmas tree at Catherine's old house that appeared to be two stories high.
I remember golden books, army men and neapolitan ice cream at grandma's house.
I remember polishing my shoes on Saturday night for church on Sunday.
I remember making paper mache for school projects.
I remember my brother asking my dad to make a "pool" in his mashed potatoes for the gravy.
I remember trick or treating, dropping off a bag of candy at home, and going out for more.
I remember my mother typing on this old typewriter,

See this typewriter on a t-shirt