On one side of the world were people whose relationship with the living world was shaped by Skywoman, who created a garden for the wellbeing of all. On the other side was another woman with a garden and a tree. But for tasting its fruit, she was banished from the garden and the gates clanged shut behind her. That mother of men was made to wander in the wilderness and earn her bread by the sweat of her brow, not by filling her mouth with the sweet juicy fruits that bend the branches low. In order to eat, she was instructed to subdue the wilderness into which she was cast.

Same species, same earth, different stories. Like Creation stories everywhere, cosmologies are a source of identity and orientation to the world. They tell us who we are. We are inevitably shaped by them no matter how distant they may be from our consciousness. One story leads to the generous embrace of the living world, the other to banishment. One woman is our ancestral gardener, a cocreator of the good green world that would be the home of her descendants. The other was an exile, just passing through an alien world on a rough road to her real home in heaven.

And then they met—the offspring of Skywoman and the children of Eve— and the land around us bears the scars of that meeting, the echoes of our stories. They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and I can only imagine the conversation between Eve and Skywoman: "Sister, you got the short end of the stick..."

As my beliefs are everflowing and shifting, this struck me. The story of Skywoman hit some chords in my heart. I love this Earth and my relationship to and with her. I have always seen Earth as pristine, perfect, and provisional and the beautiful Creation from a Higher Being. But as I analyzed Eve's story, in the way that Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote so respectfully, I realize that this story has played a role in our world and society today.

In this American land that is God-centered, how come we are not caring for our land? How come it's that there is so much consumerism, lack of awareness and connection with this Earth. We are so incredibly lucky to exist on this Earth and get to experience things like raspberries, dogs running in the park, and cats purring, trees, rain, clouds! Yet we see it as we are just passing through to something greater and perfect. I think we should enjoy this time, this moment, and honor the place we get to call home as best as we can.