THE SERVICEBERRY

As indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy How she asks can we learn from indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most Our economy is rooted in scarcity competition and the hoarding of resources and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love Meanwhile the serviceberry s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity interconnectedness and gratitude The tree distributes its wealth its abundance of sweet juicy berries to meet the needs of its natural community And this distribution insures its own survival As Kimmerer explains Serviceberries show us another model one based upon reciprocity where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships not from the illusion of self sufficiency As Elizabeth Gilbert writes Robin Wall Kimmerer is a great teacher and her words are a hymn of love to the world The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times and a reminder that hoarding won t save us all flourishing is mutual