My Honorable Harvest

So after I wrote the last post I spent some time answering the reflective questions myself (see Honorable Harvest post).  I did it in connection with looking at my life's journey as an Honorable Harvest.  What my inner spirit wisdom told me is that an honorable harvest for my life is that I should work towards gathering distinction.  Looking up "distinction" the meaning is an "excellence that sets someone or something apart from others."  And so it is that my spirit is asking me to gather excellence.  And gather means "to bring together and take in from scattered places/sources."  This gathering, then, is essentially what it means to use the earth's resources wisely.  To take a little bit here and there and leave something behind for our fellow man or the natural world.  And so I ask God* to help my life's journey to be one of gathering excellence.

* I use the term God, Spirit, etc. as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you for today.  It is not for me to decide.

Honorable Harvest

I love this coupling of words, "honorable harvest."  I first read about it in a recent interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer, PhD, in issue 484 of the Sun.  It speaks to me for many reasons.  One, I am a gardener, and I often have excess produce.  I give some to whomever I see on that day and the rest I put back on my compost heap.  In part, this is what Dr. Kimmerer was referring to, but she also went broader, attributing it to everything in our lives, "taking only what we need and never more than half of what's available, to use everything we take, to minimize the harm that is done, to share what we've taken, and be grateful and always return the gift, giving something back in return."

But then it hit me (thank you Holy Spirit*) that I can apply it to my life's journey, to my life's story, to the goals and dreams of my life which I will be journaling about using the reflective questions below.  But "honorable harvest" could mean something different for you than even what is written above.  So what does your inner spirit wisdom tell you?

First let's break down the words for better understanding:

"Honorable" is often used to mean bringing honor or worthy of honor and includes synonyms such as moral, ethical, righteous.  It can also be used as a title to indicate eminence or distinction, especially to judges and high officials.

"Harvest" has many more meanings and can be a verb or noun.  For example it can be the process or period of gathering crops or it can be an action word meaning to gather.  It can also be the product or result of an action (the effect, output, consequence), or the act of collecting or obtaining something for future use such as an organ or a resource.

Reflective Questions:

1.  Which word or words within the definition of honorable speaks to you?

2.  Which word or words within the definition of harvest speaks to you?

3.  When you put these selections of words from 1 and 2 above together, what do you get?  Does it speak to you more?

4.  God*, what do you want me to know about these words?

* I use the term God, Spirit, etc. as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you for today.  It is not for me to decide.