Reaping What We Sow

It's harvest time in much of the world.  Apples are being picked, grain is being harvested, and many other gifts of the land are being taken from where they've been growing to places where they can be processed so that we can eat them.  Farmers in many different parts of the world are reaping the benefits of all that they sowed many weeks ago, all that they've cared for and nurtured during the growing season, all that they've put so much effort into growing.

It's harvest time in all of our lives, too, but this is a harvest that goes on every day.  Each day of our lives we collect a harvest of the seeds that we've planted, be it a harvest of positive things from the seeds of love and compassion and honesty or a harvest of negative things from seeds of anger, envy, greed, or deception.  Each moment in our lives we choose what types of seeds we're planting, or just how we're going to nurture the plants that are growing.  Are we going to nurture a relationship with honesty and sharing, or are we going to harm its growth by putting dishonesty and greed in it?  Are we going to create the right environment for our professional selves to grow and develop by nurturing the work we do with honest effort and attempts to learn more about our work, or shall we simply give it the bare minimum of nutrients and water for it to grow into a sickly, pathetic thing that will offer no sort of harvest at all?

Harvest time is a beautiful time on this planet.  It's the fulfillment of a promise, the result of faith and caring.  It gives back to us in amazing ways, giving us the nutrients we need to continue with our lives and to make something more of ourselves in our futures.  But we don't grow just from gathering and using the harvest--we grow also from helping the crops to develop into a harvest of which we can be proud.