harvest - a time of joy!

harvest is always a special time of the season, when the earth fills with colours and fragrances and textures.  it is a time of a new life, a time to celebrate, a time of joy!  a time to rejoice!

when we set out to commence what seemed like an impossible task:  make a garden out of a forsaken patch of dirt, we were tempted to throw in the fork and the spade a lot of times.  

what with the floods coming in and the flock feasting on the plants at the garden, when they were just about to sprout?

but, we held and trudged on, one unusual instance when stubbornness is on top of the list of positive attributes.  bwahahaha!

 most of them spectators expected to find scraps, some even asked what we expected to get from it all?  what they may never know is, what we discovered during the journey is stunning, amazing, astonishing!

beautiful tomatoes blushing in the sunlight, with the slightest imperfections in their skin.

gorgeous gourds hanging by their delicate vines, their tendrils looking up, seeking the light!

lady fingers, string beans, soft and succulent!

radishes that are not quite the right size and shape and age!  bwahahaha!  a learning experience.

and we have not even tasted the bitter gourd that tastes sweet and crunchy, the winged bean that will take us to flights of fancy, the squash and the sweet corn - soon to be soup for the soul, the lemon grass, the peanuts and the herbs and the spices.

in the end, which is not quite yet, we know what abundance is and that it turns out into a joyful feast!
how can there be hunger in the world?  the question lingers in our minds and we look at each other.  are we just so used to rejecting what is good but imperfect?

after i went home with my bag laden with the day's harvest, the question still lingered.  and i realize that sometimes, i have done the same thing in my life.  i fear what i create and do is not adequate so i do not offer it.  i think someone else does it better so i cast aside my strengths.  maybe you, too?

but reality is, we feed hearts through who we are - just as we are.  and the images of the faces of my students listening to me yesterday, with eyes wide open and hearts hungry for some real, passionate love story, fill my mind's eye.  

yesterday, i dared to put my imperfections in The Force's hands and let him have his way with them, with me.  and my story filled my students' hearts like it was the best love story they ever heard.  yesterday was a season of harvest of my experiences.  bwahahaha!

and as it turned out, it was an experience of abundance of joy far more than i imagined.

my bus will soon stop and bring me right to the gate of my villa.  i put down my bag of harvest and assign the fruits to friends and family and strangers.  what better way to celebrate a harvest than by sharing it?

life is good!  best when shared!  ilysm!  i know you know it!  ♥ ♥ ♥