One of my good friends told me that she found her spirituality in the way she chooses to eat; she is a vegan and she tries to eat organic produce as often as possible. She believes that the food she chooses to eat is hergreatest spiritual connection with the Earth because humans are dependent upon the food we receive from the Earth for survival and for healthy nourishment. At the time, I struggled to understand the depth of this statement because food was just something that I used to fill my belly.
       
Growing up, food was a thing that was expected and taken for granted. Food came from the refrigerator, and before that, the grocery store. Junk foods were novelties to be held at a greater value than that of a fresh apple or a nice broccoli floret. Sometimes, this backwards value system still holds true, but for the most part, I, like my friend, have come to regard the fruits of the Earth to be my sacred gateway to feeling connected with all that is around me.
       
The harvest symbolizes the interconnectivity of life; it is the culmination of the harmony between the gardener and the garden. A gardener spends an entire season preparing fields, fertilizing the soil, watering and weeding the plots, and patiently waiting in order to pluck ripe produce from the vines. Simultaneously, nature works hard on the behalf of the plants: the soil providesthe seed with a home and nutrients, the sun provides food and warmth, the worms provide more soil, the rain provides moisture, and certain bugs eataway the dead parts of the plants.        
Harvesting is a chance for me to truly appreciate the time and effort that went into making every tomato, pepper, potato, and others. I may be able to proudly hold up a handful of cucumbers off the vine as a show of my own work, but like any Oscar-winning actor, there are so many others that need to be thanked as contributors to that success in the garden.  I thank Teri and Kate, who taught me the basics of gardening, the other managers and volunteers at the Campus Farm, the insects and worms in the ground, the sun, the wind, the rain, the soil, and the seed. I am thankful to all of these people and things, and for the interconnectivity that occurred during the growing period of each vegetable.

Bonnie, a master gardener, says that in organic gardening, there is a rule of thirds: one third of the produce goes to the elements, one third goes to the insects and animals, and the last third is left to the gardener. That the goods of the Earth are shared between all of these things is an additional sign that the harvest connects all of life, and it is this togetherness in thanks and praises that makes the harvest sacred.