Sowing and Reaping

With the guilt-inducing implementation of the all-too-simplistic adage “We reap what we sow”, I fear that we inflict crippling handicaps upon ourselves. Ever since the Calvinistic-inclined Scottish Enlightenment that shaped the fundamental foundations of much of the world’s value systems, we have laboured under the yoke of an understanding that our griefs and pains are the direct result of some behavior, choice, or even Adamic curse upon all of mankind. The most evident beneficiaries of this cultural malady are the religious organizations that espouse the concept of “sinful nature” and the psychological and counseling industries that thrive in direct proportion to the proliferation of religious fundamentalism.

Those of you, who have read me for any appreciable length of time, are fully aware of my absolute insistence on our responsibilities for the effects of our own lives. There is no doubt in my mind that we are most effective and satisfied in the living of our lives when we embrace our individual responsibility for ourselves. Hence, to the degree that that personal responsibility has effect, I am in complete harmony with the “as you sow… you reap” mantra. But, as is true of any and all “fundamentalist” dogma, that cliché is profoundly inadequate in presenting a full and complete picture.

For, My Very Dear Friend, what you and I “sow” … all that we initiate … whatever we generate, construct, enact, or do, is done in a “field” or environment that comes to us with its own set of influences and consequences. The very nature of the ground (if you will) in which we sow our efforts and commit our acts of constructive or destructive (as the case may be) behaviors has, as a natural aspect of itself, “fruits” to be dealt with. To illustrate … we all can accept the fact that aggressive and wild driving of an automobile can result in dreadful consequences. If I were to say that you can expect to cause yourself and/or others some sort of physical harm if you drive recklessly, there would be little argument. For we would all assume that such driving would be executed in the field of our familiar motoring setting. But, I recall the video that I enjoyed watching, that was made of Stevie Wonder driving his automobile. I know … he is sightless … and we would all anticipate that him behind the wheel of an automobile would be a recipe for disaster. But, you see, to allow himself the joy of the sensation of driving his car, a different field and set of circumstances was established. So “what he sowed”, that is, his actions, did not produce a harvest to be reaped in some auto-repair shop or hospital. He drove on an abandoned airfield with very involved coaches in the car with him. So he took responsibility for his sowing (his actions) and ensured that the field of his planting would accept his actions and yield a product that would be savored as joy. So, you see, what we would expect as a direct result of his behavior was not, in fact, what was the outcome. He had a “blast!”

Now! Why do I venture here? Because, Dear One, I have, throughout my life, been burdened by the suffering and pain of many whose paths have crossed mine whilst they needlessly bore erroneous condemnation for what they were taught was, solely, the result of some choice or behavior of their past. Countless are the number who, at this very tick of life’s clock, are weighted down with that most sadistic of monsters … guilt … inflicted by their belief that they are reaping their own personal fruit of their own sowing in the form of sickness, infirmity, disability, misfortune, rejection, condemnation, hatred, or even death. They have been trained to this belief that they and they alone, are responsible for all of the suffering that touches their lives. And, I have never in all of my three-score and one years heard anyone say “Look at the field!” Are we not all growing in a natural life-field that is replete with inherent maladies and adversarial elements?

When we plant a new and delicate seedling, do we not pay heed to the preparation of the soil and environment that will be the bio-world for that plant? We do that because we recognize that the fruit of that plant is vulnerable to all of the natural forces of the environment in which we plant it. Is it any less so with each of us. Do we not all respond to the elements of our growth-environs? Have not family, neighborhood, school, church, friends, job, community, and even geography had an impact on us in every aspect of our development and daily function? I think … absolutely, Yes! So, My Friend, can we not accept the truth that what we perceive as the “fruit” of our lives is going to be only a partly influenced by our own individual elections (though a very important part … and the part that we are responsible for.) While much of that Fruit is going to reflect the myriad influences of that Field in which we are planted and cultivated.

So … when considering those “outcomes”, or consequences visited upon us in the course of this life … be aware of (as you hear the vintners speak of the soil and weather on a particular vintage of wine) all of the elements that influence the harvests of each day of our lives. Give every consideration to all that exercises effects on our journey … and (while accepting appropriate responsibility for your influences) celebrate the successes that you have enjoyed over those elements that might have had a detrimental effect beyond what was realized … were it not for the attention … the love … the care and devotion that you invested. Then go forth from this moment looking forward to an even better harvest … a more excellent vintage … tomorrow.