Harvest and bounty are not everyday words to us anymore. We use them so infrequently that I have to pause and think about how I’d use them in conversation. Yeah, probably wouldn’t. When I think about these words I tend to visualize some pilgrim-type people sitting around a table sharing large platters filled with foods - cornucopias, too! Ooh, let’s bring those back into style this Thanksgiving! If I try to think about them in the context of today, I have really pause... Okay, let’s jump in...

Before bounty, you must have harvest. Harvest, by literal definition, is “the act or process of gathering in a crop.” When you have a good harvest, you have a bounty of something to give. Bounty also refers to the act of generosity and freely giving. You won’t have much, or anything, to give if you don’t pay attention to your crop and harvest time. This is applicable to our own lives too. This time of year is a lot about giving. And wouldn’t it be great to give - to give anything - in total freedom and delight? There’s some obvious logic here - you can’t give what you don’t have. I’m mostly speaking about non-material things - time, service, mental space, care, love, etc. 

For this season (and all the seasons to come), focus on the harvest. How should you tend to yourself and what needs to be cultivated in order to freely give? Here are a few ways to start the harvest within yourself:

• Make time for yourself: play yourself a favorite song in the morning, read an inspiring quote before bed, schedule appointments for yourself! (massage, eye doctor, dentist, etc.), clear out time for a brisk walk

• Create an act of service ritual in your life: make yourself a cup of tea at a certain time of day, massage your feet before bed, organize or clean out a space in your house that is YOUR space (continue to tend to that space in a way that feels loving)

• Make way for mental space: make a list of all the things that make you happy (post the list so it is something you see everyday), focus on thinking about yourself (what do I want?)

• Find new ways to love yourself: catch the thoughts of self-criticism and POOF them away, create a mantra of self-love and speak it out loud many times a day, smile at yourself in the mirror

What else can you bring into your life and into yourself for harvest time?