Reciprocity:
Kimmerer’s Braiding of Potawatomi Philosophies with Modern Culture
“I dream of a world guided by a lens of stories rooted in the revelations of science and framed with an Indigenous worldview- stories in which matter and spirit are both given voice.”
Robin Wall kimmerer
All Flourishing is Mutual
Reciprocity is widely defined as a relationship between people or groups of them; in this bond, one thing is fairly exchanged for another. Robin Wall Kimmerer—botanist, professor, and writer—describes it as “the mutual responsibility that we have for each other” in her breakthrough memoir, Braiding Sweetgrass. Here, she suggests that this relationship lies far beyond that between humans. Basically, she signifies that this responsibility is one that we have with everything living, Mother Earth included.
“A braid of sweetgrass […] represents the unity of mind, body, and spirit that makes us whole. […] When we braid the hair of Mother Earth we remember all that is given to us and our responsibility to care for those gifts in return. […] No one goes hungry.”
Robin wall kimmerer
Weaving Me into Our Mutual Celebration
In this book, Kimmerer introduces the beautiful balance she observes between having a hand in both science and the Potawatomi Nation. She talks about the first time she recognizes there is a difference—however she pushes back against this notion of “distinction” fiercely throughout her life—during her freshman entry interview. She says that she wants to major in botany so that she may study why different flowers bring out the beauty in one another- an idea that gets her a jeering answer: “That is not science.”
Courtesy: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/254805291404996886/
As Kimmerer says: “…sweetgrass is a teacher of healing, a symbol of kindness and compassion.”
“Time as objective reality has never made much sense to me. It’s what happens that matters. […] If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment. When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it. Not on going somewhere, but on being where you are. […] Maybe there is no such thing as time; there are only moments, each with its own story”
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Like each grain of sand, time is immeasurable.
This is why it is better to count the memories that pass the time than the seconds themselves.
The Moral Covenant of Reciprocity
But isn’t science merely an exploration of nature- a questioning of everything that inspires and intrigues us? To debunk the working of Mother Earth entirely? That is all the now botanist wishes to explore as she weaves together her teachings from her Potawatomi upbringing with scientific application. A merging that requires a broad spectrum of thought; one that the author expresses completely in her book. Spoiler alert: she discovers what makes the plants so beautiful in each other’s company. Basically, reciprocity bears the weight of their complementary nature.
Seems simple enough.
“The sweetgrass is kept in motion. [It is] a gift that has passed from hand to hand, growing richer as it is honored in every exchange.”
“The braids are given as gifts, to honor, to say thank you, to heal and to stengthen.”
“A gift is something for nothing, except that certain obligations are attached.”
“Sweetgrass belongs to Mother Earth.”
-Robin Wall Kimmerer
“I suppose that’s the way we humans are, thinking too much and listening too little. Paying attention acknowledges that we have something to learn from intelligences other than our own. Listening, standing witness, creates an openness to the world in which boundaries between us can dissolve like a raindrop.”
**I get it, I have quoted this book to death. In all reality, I wanted to put quotations around the entire book- almost every word, every sentence, has deep meaning within it.**
Input Email. Output Insight.
Fused Together, Creating a Triad of Insight 