Sow what?

2 Corinthians 9:6
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

The principle here is this; the more I give, the more I get... the less I give, the less I get.
It may be easy here to interpret this as metaphoric. When we give materially, we receive back the joy of giving. After all, the very next verse says, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." Cheerful joy then becomes a bi-product of faithful and generous giving. While this is true, it ignores the principle set out also by Paul in Galatians 6:7, "whatever a man sows, that also he will reap."
On the other hand, we might assume that this principle is similar to the saying, "what goes around, comes around." In other words, when we are generous we will produce a generous environment or community where generosity is fostered and promoted and we are the eventual recipients of the generosity we inspire. In this case the harvest is real and tangible but the process takes time and may or may not be realized.
While both of these principles may be true and motivating, I do not think either was Paul's main point. I believe the purpose and point of this principle was far more comprehensive, literal and tangible. When we give materially, God blesses materially. Verse 9:8 bears this out; "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." When we give materially we will reap materially from the hand of God and in every other way so that we may be generous in good deeds, joy and again materially.
This further begs the question of joy and cheerful giving. Far too often people work their hearts over to fabricate a joy before they give generously. This is backwards. We must first give and then let God's reward be cheerfulness. The cycle begins with sacrifice, not sufficiency. Generous people are generous because they have experienced the joy of giving, not because they experienced they joy of plenty.

Sow what?... what will I do with what God has given me today?