05/04/2025
Some books are meant to be read. Others—like Braiding Sweetgrass—are meant to be heard. I didn’t just listen to this audiobook; I absorbed it, like rain sinking into thirsty soil. Robin Wall Kimmerer, voice is like the earth speaking—steady, gentle, yet full of strength. There’s a rhythm to the way she tells her stories, as if she’s weaving the words together with the same care she describes when braiding sweetgrass. She doesn’t just share knowledge; she offers it, like a gift, leaving space for you to take it in, reflect, and let it change you. This book isn’t just about plants. It’s about relationships—between people and the earth, between Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge, between giving and receiving. And if you truly listen, you start to hear the world differently. Here are eight lessons that rooted themselves deeply in me, lessons I hope will bloom in you, too.
1. The Earth Gives Gifts—Do We Receive Them Well?: Kimmerer opens the book with the story of the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—three plants that grow together, supporting one another in a perfect balance of giving and receiving. She explains how Indigenous cultures see the earth’s resources as gifts, not commodities. This made me pause. How often do we take without gratitude? We call things “natural resources” as if they exist for us to consume, instead of recognizing them as gifts given freely, with the expectation that we, in turn, give back. The lesson? To shift from a mindset of entitlement to one of reciprocity.
2. Science and Indigenous Wisdom Are Not Opposites—They Are Partners: As both a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer walks between two worlds. She blends scientific knowledge with Indigenous teachings, showing that these perspectives don’t have to compete—they can complement each other. Listening to her explain this felt like being invited into a larger conversation—one that acknowledges both data and intuition, both evidence and reverence. It reminded me that wisdom isn’t found in one discipline alone, but in the weaving together of many.
3. Language Shapes the Way We See the World: One of the most powerful moments in the book is when Kimmerer talks about the Potawatomi language. In her culture, most of the natural world is spoken of in verbs, not nouns. The river is not a thing, but an action—it is rivering. The wind is not an object, but something alive—it is winding. This shifted something in me. Our language shapes our reality. If we see nature as a collection of lifeless objects, we treat it as something to be used. But if we see the world as full of living beings, we approach it with respect. What would change if we spoke of nature as kin, not as property?
4. Gratitude Is a Revolutionary Act: The Thanksgiving Address, an Indigenous tradition, is a way of beginning gatherings with gratitude—not to a deity, but to the land itself. The trees, the water, the sun, the animals—all are acknowledged and thanked. Hearing this in Kimmerer’s voice, I realized: gratitude isn’t just a feeling; it’s a practice. And in a world that constantly tells us to want more, to take more, practicing gratitude for what we already have is an act of defiance.
5. The Earth Is Not a Commodity—It’s a Teacher: Kimmerer doesn’t just talk about plants—she listens to them. She shares stories of how sweetgrass thrives when it is harvested with care, but disappears when it is ignored. She describes how maple trees offer lessons about patience and generosity. This made me reconsider how I engage with the natural world. Instead of seeing it as something separate, what if I saw it as a teacher? What if every tree, every river, every animal had something to say—if only I slowed down enough to listen?
6. Reciprocity Is the Key to a Healthy World: One of the deepest lessons in Braiding Sweetgrass is the idea of reciprocity—giving as much as we take. Kimmerer tells the story of harvesting wild leeks, explaining how her ancestors never took more than half, leaving enough for the plants to regenerate. This lesson extends beyond nature. What if we approached relationships the same way? What if, instead of only taking from the people around us—attention, energy, love—we also made sure to give back in equal measure?
7. Healing the Land Is Also About Healing Ourselves: There’s a chapter where Kimmerer talks about restoring a polluted pond. She and her students work to bring it back to life, and over time, the water becomes clear again. But something unexpected happens: the act of restoring the pond also brings healing to the people involved. This hit me hard. When we care for the earth, we aren’t just fixing something broken out there—we are healing something inside ourselves, too. The work of restoration, of repair, is mutual.
8. We Are Not Masters of the Earth—We Are Its Guests: In Western culture, we often talk about saving the planet. But Braiding Sweetgrass reminds us that the earth doesn’t need saving—it has survived ice ages, meteor strikes, and mass extinctions. What it needs is for us to remember our place within it. Listening to Kimmerer say this was humbling. We are not the rulers of nature. We are guests here, temporary travelers passing through. And as guests, our responsibility is to tread lightly, to care deeply, and to leave the world better than we found it.
Book/Audiobook: https://amzn.to/4hSH3dq
You can access the audiobook when you register on the Audible platform using the l!nk above.
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