Harvesting Olives and Self-Care

Harvesting Olives in Jerash, Jordan (Photo taken by Jimmy Gross - Co-Founder - Desta Therapy)

When I used to live in Amman, Jordan, I always looked forward to Autumn. Fall in the Middle East brings the annual olive harvest — a season marked by tranquil mornings, warm sunshine, and the picking of olives from centuries-old trees.

For many individuals and families, it’s a time of labor and community, yet also a moment for reflection and joy.

Picking olives is slow, deliberate work. Each olive is carefully plucked and each branch attended to with patience. In this gentle repetition, there’s a parallel to self-care: tending to ourselves requires the same patience, awareness, and attention. Just as olives are not all ripe at the same time, our own emotional, mental, and spiritual growth unfolds gradually, through the various seasons of our lives.

Therapy, like harvesting olives, invites us to pause and notice what’s ready to be nurtured, what needs space, and what is no longer serving us. The seasonal rhythm reminds us that life has cycles — moments of growth, of stillness, of letting go, and of gathering the fruits of our labor.

To me, the olive harvest represents more than a physical task. It’s a reminder to slow down, to connect with the present, and to care for ourselves with the same patience we give the earth.

Autumn teaches us that tending to ourselves is not rushed work — it’s a mindful, intentional, and nourishing practice.