Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
A Personal Reflection on Reciprocity, Nature & Belonging…
Every so often, a book finds you at exactly the right moment. For me, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer arrived like a quiet invitation, a reminder to slow down, listen, and rekindle a relationship with the natural world that feels both ancient and deeply personal. Sometimes I am please I have dyslexia because it forces you to slow down, and really explore every word within a book.
Kimmerer, a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, writes with extraordinary grace about the ways Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge can coexist. Through her stories of sweetgrass, strawberries, moss, and maple trees, she reminds us that the earth is a generous teacher, one that gives freely and asks only for gratitude and care in return.
As I read, I felt a deep sense of recognition. Her vision of reciprocity echoes the philosophy that I try to underpin within my own work. Nature is not something outside of us, but something we are part of. I often find my creativity blooming in the quiet companionship of the natural world, in the rhythm of waves, the hum of bees, or the patience of a single tree. Reading Kimmerer’s words was like hearing those small, sacred truths spoken aloud.
The Art of Braiding: A Metaphor for Connection
One of the most beautiful aspects of Braiding Sweetgrass is how Kimmerer uses the act of braiding itself as a metaphor, gathering, weaving, offering. It feels somewhat connected to my own creative process: collecting threads of inspiration from the earth, weaving them into stories, and offering them with gratitude. Each piece of writing, each photograph, each collected rock or leaf, each quiet walk through the woods becomes a kind of braid, a way of honouring the connection between art, spirit, and soil.
A Call to Reciprocity and Belonging
What lingers long after closing the book is Kimmerer’s gentle call to live differently. To move from a mindset of consumption to one of relationship. To see the world not as scenery, but as kin. In her telling, every handful of earth, every drop of rain, every plant that grows is part of a living conversation.
That perspective has changed how I move through the world. It reminds me that gratitude is not a feeling but a practice, a way of living in harmony with the land and its gifts.
Why This Book Matters
If you’ve ever felt a quiet peace while standing beneath a tree or found yourself humbled by the generosity of the earth, Braiding Sweetgrass will feel like coming home. It’s lyrical, poetic, and grounded in both science and spirit.
I recommend it to anyone who seeks a deeper relationship with the natural world, artists, gardeners, dreamers, and anyone longing to live more mindfully on this earth.
You can explore more of my reflections on nature, creativity, and belonging on the pages of my site where I continue to braid my own strands of gratitude, curiosity, and connection, inspired by teachers like Robin Wall Kimmerer and the wild, generous earth itself.