You’ve likely heard the principle that you reap what you sow. In basic premise, the harvest you reap in life is based on the seeds you have sown and how you have tended them. And the principle applies to your health and wellness just as it does any other aspect of life. Reaping the harvest you seek demands some very careful, strategic steps..actions purposed, intentional, consistent.
So lets take a look, through a gardener’s eyes, and see just how this prinicple works.
“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.”
Cape Town South Africa is a gardener’s paradise. With a temperate coastal climate everything grows from tomatoes to mangoes. It is never too hot, never too cold; nearly always perfection. The winter rains soak the sandy soil and the brilliant summer sun fills the sky both collaborating to create a modern day Garden of Eden in every backyard plot, expansive vineyard and sweeping field that is tended.
A harvest is of course the gardener’s goal. For one, it might be a bounty of prized tomatoes. For another it could be that award winning bottle of wine. Regardless of the end goal, there is a process which cannot be dismissed. Success demands it.
1. Turn the Soil
Most gardens begin in weedy, rocky, hard trodden soils. Baked by the sun, trampled by foot, chiseled by nature, the “soil” must be prepared for its new mission. It takes back breaking effort, loads of manure and abundant time before anything can be sown.
2. Sow Seeds
The day finally comes when the seeds can meet that beautifully prepared, mission ready soil. And there is no day quite like it. Your hand eases through the supple ground. You feel it’s welcome. As the seed finds its place a sense of hope arises. Excitement fills your soul. You know a miracle is about to be revealed.
3. Water
Now that the seeds are nestled in their new home, it is time for water; that precious key to all life. Mother Nature provides her luscious drops of life even though at times delivered through the end of a garden hose. As you watch each drop soak into the soil, wrapping each sown seed in its life-giving embrace, you know that life is about to spring forth. Your heart jumps with expectant joy.
4. Sunshine
Now the sun must shine. Like nature’s incubator, it must coax the new life forth, calling it to burst through the fertile ground and begin its new journey. Each warm ray being vital to the end goal of abundant harvest is a hand on the shoulder of the gardener who eagerly awaits the day that the first green sprout is seen.
5. Weeds and Pests
There are enemies lurking in the dark depths of that carefully, lovingly prepared soil. They wait to devour the seedlings as they rise from the darkness. They too are eager; themselves loving the new soil in which they now grow, enjoying each droplet of water and every warm ray of sunshine, embracing thei all as opportunity to seize control; to have their wicked way. They are robbers and they must be controlled.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
6. More Fertilizer and Water
As the roots expand, as the lush green sprouts reach higher into the sky, they devour the nutrition and thirst quenching water you’ve so lovingly provided. Soon, they beg, they demand, they scream for more. More, more, more. They want to thrive. You want them to thrive. It is almost time to bear fruit. This is a critical moment.
7. More Sun
The sun must continue to shine now maybe more than ever as those blossoms burst forth with the greatest promise of all. Now each warm ray of sunshine introduces a new player, natures army of propagation. The delicate yet powerful honey bee arrives on the brilliant rays of light. They now hold the future in their hands.
8. More Weed and Pest Control
Those enemies grow stronger, more voracious, more tenacious than ever before. Now is not the time for them to gain the upper hand. Now is the time of awareness. Gardeners beware!
9. Time
Tick- tock, tick- tock. Natures soundtrack. When all has been done, when all is established and secure, when the work is complete the clock takes control. Those luscious clusters of grapes, the green orbs of tomatoes, the golden ears of corn, the velvety lobes of eggplant need time to prepare for the harvest. Their day is near and perfection is their goal. And as you wait, witnessing the daily evolution to harvest day, a song begins to stir in your heart. Celebration is near and it is certain. Tick- tock. Tick-tock. It is almost time!
The harvest is near.
10. Harvest Day
It is here. The day has finally arrived. Your excitement has reached new heights. Joy floods your soul. Victory is about to be in your hands. The fruits of your labors await your selection. What a beautiful day this is; natures finest. She pulled out all the stops for this day. Your partnership has succeeded. What a blessing! What an incredible journey!
I cultivate my garden, and my garden cultivates me. ~Robert Brault
The harvests of goals and dreams in our lives is little different. Yes, the physical elements are not the same but the process, the principle remains. After all, we belong to nature too. You reap what you sow!
And so, as you look forward in your life, remember these 10 steps. They apply. Should you embrace them, not forsaking a one, never growing tired, never succumbing to weariness or boredom with the journey, always tenacious, always expectant, always aware, embracing time with patience and hope, you will have the harvest you seek.
You will!
You reap what you sow. What are you planting in your garden? What harvest are you expecting? Let’s chat about it. And maybe we too, like nature and the gardener, can collaborate for your harvest reward! It sure would be an honor for me!
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