Honoring Harvest

Stopping to smell the roses is almost always applied to slowing down to see the details in life, but what if that means something more? Everything has a season for growth and a season for rest. What if we slow down to listen? Slowing down to recognize what season the animals, plants, the ground, and the weather is in. Sometimes we have to slow down to see what season we’re in as well. Everything that grows has to mature over time to reach the beauty it was designed to achieve.  No one would truly understand the flavor of a strawberry if it was always picked when it was still deepening it's color. If we took every seed for our own temporary enjoyment, then we would destroy the next generation of that plant. Stopping to smell the roses is realizing everything around us has needs just like we do. When we have the mindset that everything is plentiful, then we take more than is necessary and waste more then we should. When we are given a homemade gift or a gift of food someone grew, we are less likely to keep selfishly demanding we need more of it. Because, we see the work that went into that gift. Without the animals that walk across the land beside us and the plants that grow underneath us, we would cease to exist. How is it that it is so easy to lose respect for it all? After all, weren’t we left with the responsibility to tend and keep the land. It is because so many people are so far removed from the process of growth or from the source. It is easy to take for granted something you didn’t work for. Maybe you’ve never experienced the fear of frost coming after you’ve already planted, the rain washing away the seeds in the ground, walking down each row to water every plant because there hasn’t been any rain, or the fear of another animal eating your food before you can. You watch the plant grow, protect it, support the stems against the wind, and you wait for the day the fruit peaks in ripeness.  I’ve had the privilege to experience these things. Perhaps that’s what we need more of, to say we’ve had the privilege to learn and experienced the journey of growth.

So, how can we reconnect where we’ve lost connection? I honestly believe the first step is to find silence and to sit in it. This might be hard because most of us live in places where it’s hard to find silence. Therefore, silence makes us uncomfortable. The kind of silence I’m talking about may not be what you’re thinking of though. I mean the kind of silence away from your phone, away from expectations to accomplish something for someone else, and go somewhere you can drown out the other noises enough to hear the birds. Go somewhere where all your senses are heightened but they’re equally relaxed. I like to walk barefoot. Get outside and walk or just sit. Be there long enough to realize you can smell every individual scent of the earth and each one differs based on the weather. Wait until every other creature continues on with it's life and then you realize in that moment you are truly connected to it all. You all belong to the same moment. Your feet should be touching the dirt because from it they were made. The dirt is not dirty, it is what connects us all. So, plant seeds and watch gratitude grow in you. We reconnect by remember you’re the reason you lost connection and it is up to you to come back. Dance in the rain, have mud fights, swim in the streams, plant seeds to watch them grow, watch the ants build their homes, taste honey created from wildflowers while chewing on the honeycomb, chase the fireflies just to let them go, stargaze on the rooftop, go pet that cow, and eat all the edible wild flowers! Then you’ll start to remember what being connected felt like, because all along you have been connected, you just forgot you were.