What about Eden?  For most of us, the word Eden conjures up a mythical place of endless delight, a land that is always green, a locale of continuous abundance, a fount of pleasure without cessation.  Eden is a place, be it in our imagination or physical perception, for which we, consciously or not, inherently long.  So did Joni Mitchell sing in her "Woodstock" that we are trying to get "back to the garden."
     For we are.  Most of us understand that the earth contains serious flaws, and most of us understand that we, despite our majesty and greatness, are heavily tarnished and fractured beings.  Most of us realize that things are not always right with us or the world.  Sure, we may enjoy our lives and the world in which we live them, but we all would like to see, if we are honest with ourselves, them to be a little bit better.  Regardless of our religious or political (even Marxism wishes for a utopia) perspective, we all wish for some sort of universal renewal and restoration.
     It's easy to say that this longing is simply part of being human, that for any number of reasons we and the world suffer from various neuroses, maladies, and afflictions, and we naturally wish for things to be better.  But do we ever ask ourselves why we long for something better?  Is it because that's part of being human?  If so, why is it part of being human?  What is it about us that makes us long for improvement?  What is it about us that makes us pine for greater value?  And why do we even use value?
     Our near universal longing for some sort of Eden (or put another way, an edenic longing) should make us ponder exactly who we are.  Why, if we have emerged from nothingness, disorder, and chaos, would we think about and long for perfection?  Where would such values come from?
     Maybe, just maybe there really was once an Eden, a seminal and encompassing source of morality and value.  And maybe, just maybe it will come to us again.  Why?  Because for us to be who we are, it had to have been there at the beginning.