I used to take it as a lesson in why you shouldn't disobey God because he will fuck your shit up for eternity if you do, but now I see it being about temptation (vice), and how resisting real temptation i.e. something you know is morally not good for you but gives you pleasure (made even more intense if you know you can get away with it), resisting the urge and impulse to gorge ourselves on that kind of seduction will keep us in a place of godliness i.e acting in perfect harmony with oneself. But with humans being humans, I'm tempted to claim that Adam felt life in the Garden of Eden was boring as fuck and fancied something different for his mind to get stuck into instead of lying around all day, being satisfied in every way. Adam was the first human to live a fully automated, luxurious lifestyle, who wanted for nothing and had an Alexa called God. Adam was an unwitting Neo who accidentally created the Real through his curiosity.
But anyway, I think that most people can begin the ascension to godliness through the resistance of their vices because the act of being able to say no to something your body is screaming yes for is a demonstration of supreme self-control, self-determination, it's morally nutritious etc, and these building blocks lead to heightened confidence, greater awareness of how one can realise one's potential...
Maybe that sounds like a no-brainer of a decision to make but I think most people are like anti-Icaruses, in that they become scared when they find themselves flying so high. They get vertigo. They're reluctant to soar above others for fear of making themselves targets, or they are afraid of being overwhelmed by the feelings of joy and exhilaration that resonate them from experiencing such a magnificent view.
