I mean, my own 'next step' is to move to Ethiopia
. And I was raised in a family where we were taught that the rules usually don't apply to us. In fact, my sister once commented (after one of my off-hand remarks disregarding the rules) that I showed classic symptoms of a sociopath...but since I was raised in our family, it didn't really mean anything. Not that we were raised to be hooligans; we were raised to do the right thing, and if that's the case...not to worry too much about what other people might think the 'right thing' is. Makes for an interesting scenario in large crowds, when I habitually ignore the directions and go from point A to point B regardless of things like barricades and police tape. (I missed customs at the airport once; nothing too terribly criminal.) I mean, I'm aware of this, so I can try to rein it in, as needed. But anyway, I don't regard any of that a product of the Fall; that seems to be just human nature to me....and certainly a side of human nature open to being exploited, but not bad in and of itself. Exploration is good and fun...though it can have some nasty side effects. ['I wonder what would happen....' can turn into unethical human experiments, but it doesn't have to if this is checked by other human traits.]
To me, original innocence means an ability to relate to the world in the healthiest possible way. To have an absence of fear (not because of being incredibly naive), but because of a much deeper level of understanding. To truly love people, and to be able to communicate with them in a way that you both see each other clearly. Mutual respect. And yes, not so much struggle between what I want to do and what I feel I ought to do. Not because struggle is annoying, but because it is good when those two urges are in harmony. To be openly and wholeheartedly passionate.
The story of Beren and Lúthien could be read as a contrast between characters who react with love and respect for Lúthien (and her famous beauty) and those who react purely from lust and possessiveness. Of course Morgoth falls squarely on the lust side, and Celegorm (whose reaction to meeting a pretty girl is to lock her in a dungeon and threaten her family). But so does Thingol as the over-possessive father. And while of course Beren is cast as the ideal lover, Huan, too, loves and sacrifices for Lúthien. This dichotomy between loving people and using them is something I associate (strongly) with the Fall, so that original innocence is the ability to relate to people, animals, our environment, God...everything...in a way that is untainted by 'so what do I get out of this?' I don't know if Tolkien was referencing the innocence of the Garden with Huan being a talking dog, but that is a connection I make.
I don't think that is ignorance, strictly speaking. I think you can only fully know someone if you love them deeply. And while of course we do get much joy out of that...once it reaches the level of taking rather than asking or even just accepting a gift, it is twisted well beyond recognition from anything that could be called 'love'.
I think that what was lost at the Fall was a deeper communion that came naturally to humanity in its 'original' state. I think we can (with a lot of work) get glimpses of that in our lives now, but it's hardly a natural state of being in how we relate to our world.
