Gifts of the World

“When I close my eyes and wait for my heartbeat to match the drum, I envision people recognizing, for perhaps the first time, dazzling gifts of the world, seeing them with new eyes, just as they teeter on the cusp of undoing. Maybe just in time. Or maybe too late.”

Robin Wall Kimmerer, from the Epilogue

I’ve finished Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book called Braiding Sweetgrass. It’s been a while since a book has captivated me, educated me, moved me to tears, laughter and anger but left me with a desire to start rereading as soon as I finished. I found much enlightenment about nature that I was never taught in school or don’t remember or my focus was on the ballgame after school.

Kimmerer said she wrote the book because, “I wanted readers to understand that Indigenous knowledge and Western science are both powerful ways of knowing, and that by using them together we can imagine a more just and joyful relationship with the Earth.” She explains how Indigenous people know a nature different than we do, most of that gained from reading the book of nature. That has stirred me to want to read more of this book of nature which means spending more time with her. Highly recommend the book.