Have a minute to consider gratitude?

As the fourth Thursday in November rolls around, our thoughts turn to Thanksgiving.

Running the risk of putting another thing on your list, please consider reading or re-reading renowned ecologist, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, “The Serviceberry, Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World”.

It is a short book in which we are asked to rethink our relationship with the earth and create new practices based on sustainability and values.

In place of consumerism and individualism, Kimmerer shows us a more natural model based on gifting and reciprocity.

The Serviceberry reminds us that the natural world is a gift that offers us resources to sustain and to share. We show gratitude by giving from this abundance and this gifting promotes the desire to continue the chain of goodwill and kindness - reciprocity. We are invited to build relationships and be a community where “wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”

The book beautifully illustrates this web of exchange and points us to a life where “all flourishing is mutual”.

The invitation is to reimagine our values and practices. In doing so we can create a more balanced relationship with the environment and each other.

At BeECO we are grateful for our growing community. Being thankful is an every day practice.