Original Joy

“Sin begins with a woman, and we must all die because of her”.      Ecclesiastes 25:24

What a legacy! The Old Testament author, most often taken to be Solomon, writes from the perspective of an old man musing on Life. A man reputed to have 700 royal wives, and 300 concubines. His ultimate conclusion: All is vanity absent a context with G_d. Yes, our first allegiance and love must be to God, but that doesn’t diminish the extension of that…to Love Creation and our fellow Humans as well. The one need not diminish the other. 

St. Augustine picked up on this OT thread and birthed it into the widespread Christian doctrine of Original Sin. He argued that all humans inherited the guilt and corruption of Adam’s initial disobedience. This “sin” of disobedience is transmitted through carnal desire in sexual reproduction. For him, it might be said we are ontologically “screwed” (pardon the bawdy pun). Augustine doesn’t stop there…the opines that this Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) developed the doctrine of original sin, arguing that this “taint” renders all of humanity incapable of choosing good on its own. This state of being “spiritually dead” requires divine grace, typically through baptism to escape damnation. And, did I forget to mention, it absolutely not only needs an outside Savior, but a Church to administrate the necessary tools for salvation. 

Fresh from the pascal Mysteries, and indeed Passover, I find those understandings flawed, and truly without merit. Further it has been the cause of endless and unneeded suffering for vast swaths of humanity, and by extension all those hurt, through wars, as a result. Indeed, it was Augustine who gave us the concept of a “just war”.  

Passover, and Easter, are festivals and celebrations of Life over Death, and Celebrations of Freedom over Oppression. It is a time of Joy and Renewal. What needs to die is the Ego…what needs to perish are the doctrines and habits of thought that require something to be Bad in order to find and live the Good. Time for a reset! 

What would be the implications if there was the concept of Original Joy instead of original Sin. Suppose the “Garden” contained the secrets to be true guardians of Creation, and to grow into the Divine Beings that we are meant to become. Yes, first we must learn how things” work”. That is the Gift of the first Tree- the Knowledge of Duality (aka “Good and Evil”). Life only becomes “Evil” if our intention is not to first align with Divine. When we start with the intention to Serve the Divine (and its Creation), then we will come in our time to delve into the deeper Mysteries of Oneness- fruits of the Tree of Life. God did not forbid us to eat of these fruits but rather by Creating them actually ENCOURAGES us to join in the feast. 

So, if we take this as a starting point, where do we go from there. Going back to another thread from the writings of Ecclesiastes, despair and skepticism melt away when Life is viewed as a daily gift from G_d. This attitude of Gratitude does lead to the door of Joy. What makes the Journey unnecessarily painful is that belief that the Road is hobbled by some original “sin”, and that it began with a Woman. Solomon got it partially right but failed to fully comprehend the Divine Process of Spiritual Development and Unfoldment.

I have had the great Joy of being present to the birth of my daughter and also of my two grandchildren. Hard work indeed…they do rightfully call it labor. But the moments of Bliss and Joy when a new child of God draws its first breath are undeniable. God is truly at work…there is nothing flawed here! 

How can we reconfigure the attitudes to the process of our own unfoldment, and truly be Reborn? Perhaps consider the lilies of the field. Watch their “rebirth” from the frozen earth, and their glorious explosion into the air.  Take in their wondrous colors and the very music of their chorus. Breathe that in. Is there any taint of Evil in their fragrance? Are we truly the single thing that was created inherently and permanently different, even condemned? Do those lilies in need of Redemption?

What kind of Free Will were we given that has pre-colored us to Darkness?  It rather has that Free Will taken away and inclined us towards sin. A real Catch-22. Time to unravel that tangled ball of dogmatic yarns.

What are the tools necessary for us to live together in Original Joy? 

• First, cultivate the Quality of Gratitude. Life is a Gift, for sure, but we are aided in our development by being (humbly) Grateful for it. Express this Gratitude in practical ways, and for Goodness sake, share it!
• Second, let this Gratitude sink into your HeartMind. Allow yourself to fully feel it. How can you tell when this is happening. This is easy to discern- you smile more and you begin to see the Good of Life. 
• Third, begin to de-program old patterns of thought that make you feel guilty or shameful. Begin to embrace the idea that there is nothing somehow inherently wrong with you. This stage of de-programming is best accomplished with help and direction. This is the “homework” part of the process. We all need assistance. Develop (or continue) a thoughtful practice of growth and release of old tapes and misguided beliefs.
• Fourth, (re)define your Joy. What brings deep satisfaction and smiles into your Life? Write them down, cultivate them, take the time necessary to develop them. You truly deserve them, nay NEED them. Without Joy you cannot find Love. Without Love you cannot find Peace. 
• Fifth, as you learn to pull up the weeds that strangle your Joy, look about you- to your fellow humans, to Nature, and find some Path of Service, for none of us are here just for ourselves.