Apple for Knowledge

Apple, Rosaceae

Apple’s message, not surprisingly, is knowledge. Several kinds of knowledge are needed when writing a memoir and the apple is there to remind us to seek the necessary resources. Depending on our focus, we may draw on a combination of self-knowledge, family knowledge, social knowledge, world knowledge, scientific knowledge, medical knowledge, spiritual knowledge, and other specialized bodies of knowledge. Memoir writing is often a time of delving into the self to better understand how we became the people we are. But the development of this self-knowledge will most likely bring us into contact with many knowledge resources.

Apples have been an important part of history, legend, lore, and mythology. For example, in Greek mythology, Gaia, also known as Mother Earth, gave Hera and Zeus an apple tree as a wedding present. Fossilized apples have been found in the ruins of Jericho dating from 6500 BCE. And, of course, our most frequently stated link to apple as knowledge is the story of Eve and Adam in another garden, the Garden of Eden.

Interestingly, the apple is a member of the Rose family, Rosaceae, which includes more than 3000 species of plants such as the rose that also grows in our Memoir Garden with its message of success. Apples have traveled around the globe since originating thousands of years ago near the modern day country of Kazakhstan, inspired science (a falling apple lead Sir Isaac Newton to state the laws of gravity and motion), and contributed to our health with their antioxidants and vitamins.

Let the apple tree growing in our Memoir Garden remind us of our ancient ties to knowledge and to our ability to reach out as well as in to get any knowledge we need for our memoirs.

Visit our Writer’s Store with its products for encouragement and sharing that feature many of the herbs from our Memoir Garden.