The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This abundance of berries feels like a pure gift from the land. I have not earned, paid for, nor labored for them. There is no mathematics of worthiness that reckons I deserve them in any way. And yet here they are—along with the sun and the air and the birds and the rain,

We both sing gratitude with our mouths full.

Ethnobotanists know that the more names a plant has, the greater its cultural importance.

Receiving a gift from the land is coupled to attached responsibilities of sharing, respect, reciprocity, and gratitude—of which you will be reminded.

Our oldest teaching stories remind us that failure to show gratitude dishonors the gift and brings serious consequences.

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. The relationships nurtured by gift thinking diminish our sense of scarcity and want. In that climate of sufficiency, our hunger for more abates and we take only what we need, in respect for the generosity of the giver.

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

I could return the gift with a direct response, like weeding or bringing water or offering a song of thanks