“Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource. I accept the gift from the bush and then spread that gift with a dish of berries to my neighbor, who makes a pie to share with his friend, who feels so wealthy in food and friendship that he volunteers at the food pantry. You know how it goes. To name the world as gift is to feel one’s membership in the web of reciprocity. It makes you happy—and it makes you accountable.”

~ from The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance by Robin Wall Kimmerer,
member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
Illustration by Christelle Enualt.

Published by Emergence Magazine
Used with permission