Thank you, Owen Clark for sharing your insights into the wonder of story telling and how we can learn so much through careful reading about living in peace and harmony in this overwhelming world.
Owen was born in Chinchilla, Queensland. After finishing his secondary schooling at Toowoomba Grammar School, he worked on his father’s sheep property for four years before obtaining a Theological degree in Melbourne.
Prior to working at Melbourne Lifeline for ten years as a trainer and supervisor of telephone counsellors, he spent seventeen years in Parish ministries in South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. His final calling was to Industrial Chaplaincy, where he spent twelve years caring for people at work and critical incident debriefing at various companies and organisations in suburban Melbourne.
Since retirement in 2000, he has been actively involved in Balwyn Central Probus Club and attends a weekly meditation group.
His recently published second book ‘Eighty-Five and Still Alive’ which includes his poems and thoughts is available at Amazon.com.au.
His first book, a memoir, ‘View From the Boundary Fence’, was privately published in 2019, and both books are available from the Boroondara Library. You can also have a look at ‘View From the Boundary Fence’ online on the website owenroyclark.com
To read poems by Owen, please go here
How Eden Hovers: a reflection on an ancient story
Owen Clark
Whether fact or myth, the message of Eden is part of us and in our psyche. Eden was a place or experience of perfection.
Those living in Eden had no idea that evil and destruction existed. They lived in a perfect bubble. They had all they needed. There were no problems, no troubles, no destruction. They didn’t seem to tussle or worry about anything. They were encased and safe in a beautiful prison. They were innocent, inexperienced, and ignorant as to what was outside their delightful position, which I have described as the nicest prison. ‘Everything in the garden was lovely,’ as the saying goes.
God related to them and talked to them, but on what level? While He knows everything outside Eden, He relates here to very simple folk. It’s like a mature person relating to a baby. While they are perfect, doesn’t God want to relate to someone closer to His equal? Someone who’s got an idea of the complete complexity of life rather than of a perfect baby?
So, getting out of Eden would be good for humans, in that they would have to grow up, and for God, who would like to relate with those who struggle as He struggles with the issues of good and evil.
The devil claims that eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will make humans like gods. In a way, this is true. It signifies humanity stepping out of Eden’s naivety and into the complex reality that includes all good and all evil.
And being kicked out of the perfect Eden places humans in the god’s arena. In this space, that is the world in which we now live, humans can find and experience all the wonders of life and the most horrific tragedies imaginable.
East of Eden, an angel with a flaming sword was placed to prevent Adam and Eve, and humanity, from trying to get back to Eden and the Tree of Life. The message is clear: there is no going back. Once their eyes were open, they saw how naked and exposed they were to the greater reality of life. They couldn’t go back to be ‘not naked.’ While the sword prevented them from going back, psychologically, the question is, can anyone who has seen something ever ‘unsee’ it? Once we grow, it is impossible to return to innocence; it is impossible to go back.
And in scripture, the Tree of Life has gone from Genesis to Revelation, from Eden to the New Jerusalem. The tree of life is not found looking back to the beginning but forward to the end of time. We can look back to gain understanding and wisdom, but life is lived forward.
The tree of life represents the final goal, the wisdom and maturity attained, the result of embracing life and its suffering and struggle and coming out on top, if not on top, then having put up a good fight.
It is a concept like a new Eden where all struggles are ended, maturity is welcomed, and evil and destruction are no more. The lasting treasures, the true values, the grandness of all the qualities of earth described as a harvest are all featured and included in the glory of the Creator of all life.
It is true that we come into the world as in Eden. As a baby, we are innocent, dependent, naive, and helpless. But in the image of God, we have potential. Life pushes us out into the good and evil world so we might fulfil our potential and grow into the person we really are. With every new thing that confronts us for the first time, we sense something like a move out of Eden. We feel our innocence, our ignorance, and our lack of experience and knowledge. In spite of our lack, we go on.
Through this process of discovery and struggle, we can hopefully add to the world with the treasures we have lived out.
Sadly, there are people who selfishly idealise the Eden experience. They focus on being safe and don’t want to know anything outside their created bubble. Inside their bubble is their safety, truth, and the heaven they want and create. They are in their nice Eden prison, denying people and ideas that don’t fit with their limited idea of Eden.
We all have the bubbles we create. Life urges us out of our safe bubbles so we might grow, discover, and contribute positively. The journey from naivety to wisdom is the essence of human existence and the principle of life in every sphere.