| My second step to harvest life gracefully is to | | | | give me any problem or situation that I cannot handle |
| develop a close personal relationship with the higher | | | | because the power has my best interest in mind. This |
| power. My higher power is the traditional God. For | | | | gives me confidence and encouragement to do the |
| other people who does not believe in the traditional | | | | right thing. |
| God can decide to make nature, or anything else that | | | | If you completed the first step honestly, of Harvest |
| you view as greater than yourself. To harvest life | | | | Life Gracefully, which was to examine your life, you |
| gracefully it is essential to believe that there is a | | | | gain knowledge about what you did not like about |
| power greater than yourself. Problem with believing? | | | | yourself. This is known as your character defects. |
| By working on it and making a conscience choice, to | | | | Some of these defects we probably was born with |
| decide will help you to believe. Some other ways to | | | | and some though our environment and society. If we |
| help you believe is by receiving support from groups, | | | | become willing and want these defects removed |
| such as books, faith groups or nature groups also | | | | from our lives we need to meditate and ask the |
| people who seems to have a strong faith can help. | | | | power to remove them. I believe that when the |
| You can look for groups in your community or even | | | | power wants them to be removed they will. Here |
| online. Once we start believing, you will begin to have | | | | we need to be patience, because just asking to have |
| faith, you will begin to trust in the unknown, you then | | | | them remove may not happen over night. I believe |
| will realize you feel more peace and feel secure | | | | there is a purpose for our defects, even though it is |
| knowing you are in good hands of your higher power | | | | difficult to understand why, but the power will |
| who loves you unconditional, wants what is best for | | | | remove them when the power feels it is the right |
| you, and wants you to be happy. | | | | time. Our job is to make a sincere effort to have |
| Now the second part of this step is to make a | | | | them remove by meditating and asking and living |
| promise to your higher power that you want to do | | | | each day the best that you can. Another mantra I |
| his will only. This part may be difficult because we are | | | | use is "The effort is ours and the results are God's" |
| human with a free will and so often we want to do | | | | There are many situations and people that we |
| what our own desires and wants are. The higher | | | | cannot change, such as natural disasters, situations |
| power's will is the path to happiness, we may not | | | | caused by other people. We cannot make people to |
| understand the power's will but it is important to | | | | be the way we want them to be, we have no |
| accept it. We may not always know what the | | | | power in that, people can only change by their own |
| power's will is for us, because our desires can be so | | | | wiliness and readiness though the power. Therefore, |
| strong and intense that it can be confusing or we | | | | when we encounter situations and people that we |
| don't have the courage to follow it. This is when we | | | | cannot do anything about, we have no choice but to |
| need to meditate, find a place to relax, use relaxation | | | | turn it over to our higher power and put it into the |
| tapes or soft music if needed to quiet our minds and | | | | power's hands, we then need to concentrate on |
| thoughts, listen to what our soul, heart or gut tells us. | | | | letting go, then believe, and trust that the power will |
| (This is where the power speaks to us). Ask for | | | | take care of it when the time is necessary. Another |
| courage to follow though when you realize what the | | | | mantra that is good is to say "Let Go and Let God." |
| power's will is. One mantra that I like to tell myself is | | | | As you practice this step your love, faith, trust and |
| that "nothing is given to me that I don't have the | | | | hope will grow stronger and stronger, and you will |
| capabilities to handle." I trust that the power will not | | | | see that you to can harvest life gracefully. |