The Serviceberry Read-Along | Part 1

Join us! We're discussing chapters one and two.

Welcome to the very first Feel Good Read-Along! Where each season we read a book together that leaves us feeling good.

For Winter we’re reading The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

This is the first of three discussion posts. We’ll be discussing chapters one and two.

“All flourishing is mutual.”

I was drawn in from the opening line. We’re instantly reminded that though we may feel separate, we are all connected with the natural world, we are all equals.

In the first two chapters of the book Kimmerer wades us lovingly into her world of gratitude and reciprocity.

GRATITUDE

Seeing the serviceberries as gifts, and as a metaphor for the natural world as a whole and all of its gifts, Kimmerer points out that everything that makes our lives possible is provided by the lives of more than human beings. Of course!

“When we speak of these not as things but as gifts, our whole relationship to the natural world changes.”

The kind of gratitude she describes is “supporting the good of the people, not only the individual.” It is not a performative, automatic manners kind of gratitude, it is a “recognition of indebtedness that can stop you in your tracks. It brings the relation that your life is nurtured from Mother Earth.”

This is so powerful. We as humans are truly reliant on the natural world. Makes me feel pretty small, in a good way!

“Enumerating the gifts you’ve received creates a sense of abundance. The knowing that you already have what you need.”

What are some things you feel grateful for? What offerings of the natural world can heighten this sense of abundance for you?

For breakfast I ate two eggs from my sister-in-law’s chickens with local Belgian forest mushrooms. I’m feeling pretty rich - and grateful for the natural world outside my door - at the moment.

RECIPROCITY

The gift economy - a “serviceberry economy” - what a beautiful new way to think about reciprocity.

I often tell my kids that what you give will always come back to you (followed by a strongly encouraged ‘share with your sister!’ haha). But Kimmerer’s gift economy is not giving for the getting. It’s giving for the giving.

“To name the world as gift is to feel your membership in the web of reciprocity.”

A gift is a connection, a transaction is a commodity, “even though the physical makeup of the ‘thing’ has not changed.”

I love the example of a wooly knit hat knit by your auntie versus one you purchase at a store. Both will keep you warm, but your relationship to the hat will be different. “You are responsible for it, and your gratitude has motive force in the world… This is the power of gift thinking.”

“Imagine if we acknowledged that everything we consume is the gift of Mother Earth, we would take better care of what we are given.”

We all know how good it feels to give a gift. Sometimes, at least for me, it can be harder to receive. But with reciprocity in mind I feel more connected to a cycle that isn’t just about me, but about my friends, family, neighbors, community - and the natural world too.

How can you incorporate gift thinking into your life? In what ways do you or can you show reciprocity?

I’m thinking about holiday gifts - homemade sourdough bread boules and American chocolate chip cookies feel right on par with the kind of gift thinking I want to welcome into my life. One of gratitude, abundance and love.

What stood out to you most from the first two chapters? Was there a sentiment or line that really stayed with you?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Next time we’ll discuss chapters three, four and five - and dive even deeper into gift economies. Because of the Christmas holiday next week this discussion will be live on the following Tuesday, December 31. See you then!

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