This week we're exploring the opening section of The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. One of the biggest ideas introduced is the difference between viewing nature as a resource and recognizing it as a gift. The serviceberry tree offers an incredible example of abundance. Its berries feed birds, wildlife, insects, and people. Rather than hoarding its harvest, it participates in a larger community of giving and receiving. A few ideas to think about as you read: 🌱 Abundance vs. Scarcity: What if we measured wealth by what we have to share rather than what we accumulate? 🌱 Gifts vs. Commodities: How does our relationship with something change when we see it as a gift rather than something to purchase or consume? 🌱 Gratitude & Reciprocity: Is gratitude more than saying thank you? Does receiving a gift create a responsibility to give something back? 🌱 Interconnectedness: What changes when we stop seeing ourselves as separate from nature and recognize ourselves as participants in its community? Let's get the conversation growing! A few questions to kick things off: 1. How has spending time in nature changed your definition of abundance or what it means to have enough? 2. What's one gift from nature that you regularly enjoy but rarely stop to appreciate? 3. Have you experienced a gift economy in your own community? Think shared resources, neighbors helping neighbors, community gardens, or freely shared knowledge. 4. If nature gives us so much without sending us a bill, what do we owe in return? 5. What's one way you could practice reciprocity with the natural world this week? Our little experiential challenge: The Gift Exchange Finish these two sentences in the comments: One gift I receive from nature is... One way I can reciprocate that gift is... A thought to carry with you: What if we stopped asking what nature can provide for us and started asking how we can participate in its abundance? Happy reading, wandering, and wondering! 🌿

Hi ladies welcome to November. We are kicking off this month with a theme of gratitude, thankfulness and reciprocity with nature. Today's journal prompt is what are we most grateful for? Comment below with your response. And if you aren't already planning on joining our book club for November will explore gratitude, reciprocity and attention as love with The Serviceberry and Sense of Wonder. We will be kicking off this month tomorrow and introducing our books and authors.

For next week finish Among Flowers and be prepared with the books for November's reading which will run concurrent Sense of Wonder and The Serviceberry. Below is the outdoor activity to connect with the season and the selected book's underlying themes. November Outdoor Challenge: Attention Is Love Inspired by The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson and The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. What if gratitude begins with simply paying attention? This month, we're inviting you to spend 10–20 minutes outdoors. Take a walk, sit on your porch, visit a favorite park, or simply step outside and slow down. 🌿 Your challenge: - Notice something beautiful. - Notice something you might normally overlook. - Think of one thing in the natural world you're grateful for. - Consider one small way you can give something back. - You don't need to identify anything, keep a nature journal, or have any special knowledge. Just be present and curious. As Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us, gratitude and reciprocity go hand in hand. And perhaps, as we learn to pay closer attention, we begin to realize that attention is love. 💚 Share with us below: - I noticed… - I'm grateful for… - I can give back by… No perfect answers required. Just a little time outside, a willingness to notice, and an opportunity to reconnect with the world around us. What might change if we treated our attention as an act of love?

Here are some prompts for November focusing on gratitude and reciprocity which will tie in well with the November readings in book club. Which is one you're most excited about?

Chose to do the landscape from our campsite and combined with what feels like home, Williamson and wherever we are thanks to Birdie! Who's got some October prompt pages they'd like to share!