The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Recognizing “enoughness” is a radical act in an economy that is always urging us to consume more.

Ecopsychologists have shown that the practice of gratitude puts brakes on hyperconsumption.

If our first response to the receipt of gifts is gratitude, then our second is reciprocity: to give a gift in return.

Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you can take care of them. Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for a life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer. Never take the first one. Never take the last. Take only what you need. Take only that which is given. Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimizes harm. Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share. Give thanks for what you have been given.

Give a gift in reciprocity for what you have taken. Sustain the ones who sustain you and the Earth will last forever.

“If the economy requires people to consume more resources than the Earth can replenish, just to keep the whole thing from collapsing, isn’t it time for a new economy?”