The Bounty

It’s almost that time again, where we begin to bring the harvest into the store house. The sunflowers are ready for picking and their seeds are mature. In order to plant in the following spring, the mature seeds must be harvested.

A longtime friend sent me the picture below of her end of summer sunflower harvest and it has inspired me to write about what it means to “go to seed” at the end of the growing season.

I have spent most of my life cultivating new growth. In my real estate business I cultivate old and new friendships. I sow new growth into my artwork, my blog, my yoga practice and into my pets. I spend an inordinate amount of time watering, nourishing and feeding those areas of my life that are important to me. However, I’ve never taken the time to let those endeavors “go to seed” so that they may be harvested in due time.

When the sheaves are gathered in the field, before grain can be made into flour, the threshing of the wheat will separate the shaft from the seeds. The seed is then made into flour. However, the threshing does not go on forever, just long enough to separate the grain. How many times have I “thrashed” my bounty, literally torn it to pieces, thinking that beating it to death will produce more.

The harvest is usually meant for food for the following year, but a large majority of the bounty must be thrashed and saved for future planting. When we gather we must plan ahead so that not all our the harvest is used as food. Some must be replanted for the following year.

Keep in mind the separating of the seed from the plant itself requires breaking. As seen here, these seed pods have been removed from the center of the flower. The plant was broken and thrashed. They will then be dried and savored throughout the fall and winter as food. But, some will yield the crop for the following year.

The broken pieces of our lives are what teach us the greatest lessons. Those pieces that have brought pain and bruises, emotional hurt and personal tragedy. Sometimes, these are the seeds we need to plant for the following year. Think of taking your pain and your sorrows and sowing them back into the ground in the coming spring. The nutrients in the soil and the sun and rain will transform those sorrows into new growth, bright yellow petals of seed to nourish our bodies. It will be the food for our future. Their sprouts in spring will prove their lessons learned were valuable to your new personal growth.

Bloom brightly!