Respond your thoughts to any of the following questions in the comments or journal about them on your own:
The themes of reciprocity, the spirit of community, a gift economy versus a property (market) economy, gratitude, the four aspects of being—mind, body, emotion, and spirit, and the learning of the language of animacy are brought to the forefront quite fervently.
1. In the story, ‘Skywoman Falling’--the indigenous Creation story (pp. 3-10), you learn that Skywoman lived as if her children’s future mattered. If you truly focus on the Earth that will be left for your grandchildren, how would you live differently?
2. Kimmerer states, in Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as “the younger brothers of Creation.” (p. 9) Do you agree that humans can learn from plants and animals? If so, how can we humble ourselves to ‘listen’ to the wisdom of the plants?
3. In the ‘Council of Pecans’ (pp. 11-21), we learn that trees teach the ‘Spirit of Community’ in which what is good for one is good for all. If you believed that the earth belongs to everybody as a community, would you be more invested in its health? Why?
4. Does the concept of trees having a community relationship, and the scientific explanations of their possible means of communications change how you view our relationship with forests? If so, how?
5. The ‘Gift of Strawberries’ (pp. 22-32) introduces the reader to the concept of “the essence of a gift economy is, at its root, reciprocity.” (p. 28) How can “the relationship of gratitude and reciprocity that has been developed increase the evolutionary fitness of both plant and animal”? (p. 30)
6. Do you see the earth as property or as a gift? How does this perspective change the way in which you view the value of what you take from the earth?
7. ‘An Offering’ (pp. 33-38) provides insight into Kimmerer’s understanding of the meaning of ceremony that is “fed from the same bond with the land, founded on respect and gratitude.” (p. 36) How can we express our gratitude and responsibility for the gifts of the land? What can we offer earth in return?
8. ‘Asters and Goldenrod’ (pp. 39-47) delves into Kimmerer’s need to question and to know about the relationship between these flowers. “It was an architecture of relationships, of connections that I yearned to understand.” (p. 46) She discovered a “lived reciprocity” between asters and goldenrod—“the pairing of purple and gold”. What is the interdependency between humans and plants? And, what happens if we don’t live up to our end of the relationship?
9. ‘Learning the Grammar of Animacy’ (pp. 48-59) introduces the concept of communing with nature by getting to know more about plants and recognizing that they are not inanimate objects. What can you do to start learning about the plants in your immediate environment? If you addressed the plants as something other than ‘it’, would that change your attitude? How?
From The Longwood Gardens and Library and Archives
9. It makes sense to refer to animals and plants as beings-- that there is more than just humans or things, although the English language makes it difficult to expand beyond that. I like her use of the word "yawe" to refer to living beings other than humans and ask the question "who is this?" about an apple rather than "what is this?" This approach definitely makes me contemplate other species origins and be grateful for what they have to offer as gifts.
8. This was one of the most impactful sections because her interpretations related to how I often feel while studying biology as well. She acknowledges her natural curiosity and affirms that her wonder about the color of asters and goldenrods is a question of science, art, and beauty and that such a question IS a testable hypothesis. We have a responsibility to care for plants and look to them as teachers otherwise we will miss what they have to tell us completely.
5. The sense of gratitude and reciprocity lead to a restraint because we understand the work the Earth has done do give us these gifts and we only have a desire to take what we need and to give back when something is a gift. This reciprocity will give the Earth what it needs to grow so we can still receive its gifts in the future (waiting for strawberries to ripen so we get the full goodness of what they have to offer and e in turn spread their seeds). It is a beneficial relationship for both built out of love and gratitude.
The Grammar of Animacy - "We don't have to figure out everything by ourselves: There are intelligences other than our own, teachers all around us. Imagine how much less lonely the world would be." Wow. Yeah I'm crying. This is such a comforting perspective. The world is more abundant than we know. Be open to it. Seek connection. Notice. Observe. Appreciate.
The Gift of Strawberries - "The more something is shared, the greater its value becomes." This is an uncomfortable thought for a lot of people. Yet giving creates reciprocity in a relationship, which is a powerful thing that sustains life.