Partners

Imagine sitting around a fire with your tribe. It's night time, and the sky is dotted with more stars than you've ever seen. The shadows of the fire dance around you and reveal nature's gems, hidden if not for the flames. You've just finished eating, and just like every other night, the chief of the tribe tells a story that sounds something like this . . .

"Over billions and billions of years, the earth you walk on and the sky you look upon, and all the lights you see at night, were created by the Great Power. And after everything was set in order to reproduce itself, the Great Power decided to rest. Then the Great Power blessed the time of rest and made it sacred because it was time to take a break from creating. 

At some point in the processes of the universe coming to be, there weren't any shrubs to pick berries from. There weren't any plants to pick fruit from. And the Great Power hadn't yet established the processes that would bring rain to the land. Plus, there was no man available to till the ground once it did rain. However, back then there was a mist that would spray out from cracks in the ground and water the surface of the ground. And out of this mixture of water and dust, the Great Power set the processes in motion that would lead to the first living organism - the human being. And after millions of years, a garden grew out of the East in a place called Eden, and this is where the first man found his home. This place called Eden was the springboard for life, and this life would spread out over billions of years to fill the earth. By the time man got to the garden, there were beautiful trees, and they were fruit-bearing. Our ancestors say that there were two trees that stood out from all the others. One was called the tree of life, and the other was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Over time, the mist that sprayed out of the dry earth evolved into a river, and one of these rivers flowed out of Eden. It watered all the plants and trees, and over time it divided into four different rivers. The name of the first river that split off from the river of Eden was Pishon. It watered all the land of Havilah. This is where our ancestors first found gold, and the gold of that land was very good. Also, the bdellium and the onyx stones were first found there by our ancestors. The name of the second river was Gihon. It watered the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris, and it waters the land of Assyria. The name of the fourth river is Euphrates. 

Once man was evolved by the processes the Great Power put into order, he took care of the garden. He nurtured the plants, trimmed down the trees, and made sure everything had life to the fullest. And one day, the Great Power told the man, "Eat from any plant in the garden you'd like, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Its fruit looks like all the other fruit, but it's not good for you. It's poisonous." 

Then the Great Power told the Great Spirit, "Since we're not alone, it's not good for the man to be alone. Make him a helper who'll tend the garden with him." And so the Great Spirit put into motion the processes that - after many, many years - would lead to the first female being. But throughout the natural processes that would lead to the man's first helper, nature ruled out several options. The first option was a beast of the field. The man and the beast worked together and accomplished many things, but the man felt that something was missing. The second option was the bird of the sky. The man and the bird worked together and accomplished many amazing things, but the man felt that something was missing. As they worked together, the man came up with names for them so he could communicate in a meaningful way. He worked with many different types of animals and accomplished many different things, but still felt deep in his heart that there was something missing. And our ancestors tell us that the Great Power caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. Then, the Great Power cut open the man's side, took out one of his ribs, and then used the powers of healing to close up the wound.

It's been told that the Great Power used the man's rib to form the first woman, and the Great Power brought the woman to the man.

After working together in the garden for awhile, the man realized that the feeling he had before about something being missing wasn't there anymore. And so he said to woman, "Your bones are just like mine, and your flesh is like mine also. Your name will be woman for now on because you're just like me and my heart doesn't feel like it's missing something anymore." 

Over time, the man and woman perfected their ability to work and play together. They were partners, and developed their own rhythm as they helped cultivate the garden. And nothing could stand in their way as they helped spread life around Eden.