Reflections on this sacred season of community

On the cycle of gratitude and reciprocity

(Easter) Bunny outside my window—and yes, it just snowed here!

Hello friend,

Recently I was given The Serviceberry, a short book by Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of Braiding Sweetgrass. In it, Kimmerer argues for what she calls the “gift economy”:

The currency of the gift economy is relationship, which is expressed as gratitude, as interdependence, and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity. A gift economy nurtures the community bonds that enhance mutual well-being; the economic unit is “we” rather than “I,” as all flourishing is mutual.

So often what we experience is the opposite. We’re told society is a zero sum game, in which the advancement of one comes at the expense or exclusion of another. “All flourishing is mutual” cannot exist in that framework. Instead, sharing abundance ripples out in the form of community. If Kimmerer’s neighbor has an abundance of, say, serviceberries and invites her to gather some, she might bake them into a delicious pie and invite a friend to enjoy a slice, who in turn might be inspired to provide food or a donation from her own excess to a local shelter. Gratitude and reciprocity, gratitude and reciprocity—a beautiful cycle that draws us closer to each other.