myths/stories

eveadamtote

Eve's Letter & Apple Tote

When you think about creativity and your creative process, you have probably noticed that there are many ways by which you come around to it. Not the least of which is, of course, giving in to your innate curiosity and an ever-present thirst for more knowledge.

We agree! And as we, here at Divine Women Creative Studio, got to thinking about it while working on the design, kits and crochet patterns for what became 'Eve's Apple Tote', a felted tote bag, it occurred to us that the quintessential authority on this subject has got to be that most original of women, in fact, the original woman herself: Eve! So we wondered what she would have to say if we asked her about it, and here is what imagined she might say:

My dearest Sister Souls,

Creativity is indeed a multi-faceted process - and curiosity coupled with the desire to know is an effective means of accessing your creative self. Or, perhaps I should say, it certainly worked for me!

Let me explain. The Garden of Eden was a lovely place in which to live – the place of the innocence of childhood, in fact – but I don’t regret having had to leave it. We wanted for nothing there, it is true: there was no good or evil, no life or death, no hot or cold, no right or wrong, no difficult or easy, no now or then in the Garden of Eden.

Life could not get much better than that. So why, you ask, did I choose to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Why risk ruining such a good thing? What was so tempting about that fruit (apart, of course, from it being forbidden in the first place)? I can’t rightly say that I know – for then, I had no knowledge. But the serpent said not that I would die, but that my eyes would be opened if I ate from that tree, that it would make me wise. Hmmm... I wondered: such a contradiction... Still, I must admit, I was curious. So, I plucked that fateful apple and bit into it.

Something wondrous happened in that moment. It was scary, of course, for we did indeed die that day as promised – we died to our childlike innocence, and our eyes were opened to the wisdom which comes when knowing good from evil leads to right action. But biting into something new, so to speak, opens up a whole new world of possibilities - and consequences.

When confronted with our ‘fait accomplit’, Adam’s first reaction was to blame me, and mine to blame the serpent. I’m not proud of that. I suspect, however, that, like me, Adam knew deep down that eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was the next step we were actually meant to take in our emotional and psychological journey – after all, while I had deliberated and thought it over before plucking that first apple, he simply ate when I offered it to him – no questions asked.

In fact, whatever people have made of it since, Adam actually quickly realized and acknowledged my intuitive courage and the inevitable necessity of my action, for he then gave me the ultimate compliment: he began to call me Eve, “for,” he said, I “was to be the mother of all the living.”

Now, I know there is much that I do know, and so much that I don’t know – and have yet to discover. I do know the joy and pain of loving, the passion and destructiveness of anger, the sadness and rebirthing that comes with loss – all of which comes full circle in the fulfilling labor of creating new life. And, this too, I know: through me new life is created. And that apples, like knowledge, ripen and must be picked! So I’ve made myself a sturdy apple tote, and believe me, I do know how to make a scrumptious apple pie!

Ever Inquisitively yours,

Eve

Further thoughts from Eve

As you work up Eve’s Apple Tote – or any other tote or handbag, for that matter – here is some further food for thought that original woman might well have offered:

The Base: The beginning, the base, the bones – whether of a bag or of life, are the essence of a structure. In the beginning, when Adam was all alone, it is said that I was created from his rib. Now, how lovely is that? The feminine is separated from the masculine and crafted from a rib bone, which protects the heart. You might say that my - woman’s - essence is of the truth of the heart, that I am the protector of the heart’s intentions! Hmmm... What do you know?...

Growing the sides: This whole business about the knowledge of good and evil is a tricky one. In fact, one can know the difference between these opposites, but making the right choices which lead to right action on a soul level, which then blossoms into wisdom, is quite another matter – and one grows up by learning them, believe me! But, probably as you do, I experience this whole process one thought, one intention, one action at a time, one after another, much like growing the sides of this bag – one repetitive stitch after another, changing colors when needed, creating a unique, distinctive pattern, bag, person ....

Handles: Handles... Handling things... Oh, my goodness! We bit into that apple, and a whole new world of possibilities opened up to both myself and Adam. So how did we handle it? We denied it ever happened, then we blamed someone else and each other. Too scary to do otherwise, of course. Sound familiar? How does one go from blaming to carrying it oneself? Well, I found out, as you also probably have, that creating ways to handle things so that we can carry them comfortably is part of the process of growing, and of growing to know oneself.

Felting the bag: You know, in Hebrew, the original world for woman was ‘Esha’, which is what I was called before I had a name. ‘Esha’, as it happens, means ‘the fire within’. And I’ve noticed over the years that there is something about this ‘fire within’ which is able to subtly ‘cook’, transform, and solidify, changing the texture and weight of things, much as the felting process changes the flimsy crochet bag we’ve just made into a solid, thick, strong container.

Finishing up: Being curious and gathering knowledge can lead to creating wondrous things. As a creative person yourself, you probably also know that knowledge and creative energy has to be gathered, held and transported – which, of course, means that you need a container strong enough to hold all your apples so that they don’t spill out, scatter, or worse, rot. It is good to know that you and I – and your lovely new apple tote – will be able to contain and carry all we need.