The Law of the Harvest

Four important laws govern nature. They are laws that cannot be disregarded without consequence. These same four laws also govern human life, and the symbolism applies fully to human life. Successful people learn to live by these laws. Generally speaking, people who disregard important laws or continually break laws find themselves in conflict with laws, and suffer consequences imposed by the law.

These laws are a part of the Standards of Excellence program implemented at Provo Canyon School. These four laws are lived by care givers at Provo Canyon School because they understand that example is greater than precept. These laws are taught to the students and the families of those who come there to receive care.

The First Law of the Harvest:
I Reap What I Sow

Life is like a field into which seeds are planted. The field must be prepared by plowing, harrowing, and enriching before seeds are planted. Every seed put into the soil yields its own kind of fruit. If a planter desires corn, he will plant corn seeds, instead of weeds. Similarly, we get out of our lives what we put into them. Success or happiness requires that we sow seeds that bring success and happiness. Good seeds produce good fruit, bad produce bad. Every action and every thought sows seeds that will eventually have to be harvested in life.

We become what we think and do. Thought leads to action, action to habit, and habit to character. Thoughts and actions either help or hurt ourselves and those around us. The simple test of life is: “by their fruits you shall know them.” When considering what to plant in our lives, we should first consider what kind of fruit we want to harvest, then, plant accordingly.

The harvest is the consequence of planting. Similarly, consequence is the result of choice. Every choice has a consequence, good or bad. We may be able to temporarily avoid the consequence of inappropriate actions by lying, cheating, or deceiving others, but the truth is that we become what we do and say and think, and that is the acid test of our lives: what we become. What we sow in our lives we will become.

The Second Law of the Harvest:
I Reap in a Different Season than I Sow

Normally, crops are planted in the Spring, they grow during the summer, and are harvested in the fall. It takes time for seeds planted in the earth to germinate, grow, and ripen. It is the same for people. The fruit of our thoughts and actions, be they helpful or hurtful, may not always come immediately. This does not mean we will not ever pay a price or get a benefit; it will come in time.
If a student drops out of school, they may not feel the result until they grow older and try to find a good-paying job that requires education. Drug abuse may not immediately harm health or happiness, but will later on if continued. Most students at PCS didn’t think that their past behavior would result in being placed in a mental health institution.

Growth is a process of time and effort that begins by planting seeds. The harvest depends upon the type of seeds we plant and the effort and time we put into cultivating those seeds. The harvest comes only after time and effort has been given. For good or bad, we will eat the fruits of our decisions throughout our lives. The habits that we form will either bless us or harm us.

The Third Law of the Harvest
I Reap More than I Sow

The third law teaches us the principle that from little thoughts or actions, be they positive or negative, come larger consequences that can fill our life with either happiness and success, or sorrow and regret. One tiny apple seed planted in the ground can produce an apple tree, and from one tree, thousands of bushels of apples can be harvested.

The little decisions that we make in our lives can have big consequences. Sometimes we don’t realize that the choices we make each day will affect us, but they do, and they affect the people around us who love and care for us. From one thoughtless act can come a lifetime of regret and unhappiness. From one kind act or positive thought can emerge a stream of blessings and opportunities.

The Fourth Law of the Harvest
I Can Always Plant New Seeds

We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it so that we do not repeat mistakes. Some choices in our lives we did not make, and some of our current circumstances were not our own making. We did not choose our family, our physical body, or some of the things that happened to us. We cannot change these things over which we had no control, or for which we had no responsibility.

We are responsible for the choices we did make. The bad choices we made we can learn from and do better in the future. The fourth law teaches us to learn from the past, take care of the present, and plant for the future.

Sometimes we falsely believe that our bad decisions or our current circumstances have made our present and future situation hopeless. Joyfully, that is not true. If we do not like our present situation, we have the power to change it. We can change the future by making better choices today. We can make better choices today by learning from the past and not repeating mistakes.

Our lives are not just one planting and one harvesting, but a continuing cycle of opportunities to plant and reap. Each new year, new month, week, day, minutes, and choice is an opportunity to plant new seeds for a better harvest tomorrow.

Youth are like seeds which are planted by sewers in ground and spring up and bring forth fruit. Some fruit is sweet and other bitter. Youth that receive care at Provo Canyon School are good seeds, and have the potential to bring forth good fruit. In reality, there are no truly bad human seeds; only barren soil, harsh environments, and neglectful sewers. The Laws of the Harvest, when correctly applied, empower youth to make choices that bring sweet fruit.