8/23/2020 Reciprocity
It’s been a lovely, busy, day, and I have not made time to sit and write something meaningful to share. So, I will share the words of botanist and nature writer Robin Wall Kimmerer. She was asked about the limits of the framework of "sustainability," something we need to consider deeply as we head into the last months before the upcoming election.
Dr. Kimmerer responded:
"If something is going to be sustainable, its ability to provide for us will not be compromised into the future. And that’s all a good thing. But at its heart, sustainability, the way we think about it, is embedded in this worldview that we, as human beings, have some ownership over these, what we call, resources, and that we want the world to be able to continue to keep — that human beings can keep taking and keep consuming.
"The notion of reciprocity is really different from that. It’s an expansion from that, because what it says is that our role as human people is not just to take from the earth, and the role of the earth is not just to provide for our single species.... reciprocity actually kind of broadens this notion to say that not only does the earth sustain us, but that we have the capacity and the responsibility to sustain her in return. So it broadens the notion of what it is to be a human person, not just a consumer. And there’s such joy in being able to do that, to have it be a mutual flourishing instead of the more narrow definition of sustainability so that we can just keep on taking."
As we look to those who would take the role of leader of this human community, it's worth noticing whether they express a commitment to reciprocity with our earth, and one another, whether they recognize the joy that brings.
Or, whether they focus solely on the ability to "keep on taking."
Sent, as always, with love and gratitude,
Liz
Read/listen to the full interview here: https://onbeing.org/programs/robin-wall-kimmerer-the-intelligence-of-plants/