--- title: "Gratitude as a World-Repairing Technology" sousTitre: "A Meditation on the Gift Economy According to Robin Wall Kimmerer" description: "In *Braiding Sweetgrass*, botanist and Potawatomi citizen Robin Wall Kimmerer presents gratitude not as a fleeting emotion but as an active practice of reconciliation with the living world. Drawing on the teaching of the 'One Bowl and One Spoon,' she demonstrates how this stance transforms our relationship to resources, to one another, and to the earth itself—shifting from a logic of ownership to an economy of shared giving." date: 2026-10-09 lang: en tradition: potawatomi auteurs: ["Robin Wall Kimmerer"] --- # Gratitude as a World-Repairing Technology G Gratitude is not merely a feeling that passes through us—it is a way of inhabiting the world. For Robin Wall Kimmerer, this stance engages far more than the heart: it reorganizes our relationships with everything around us, even reshaping the very structures of our collective existence. In her work, she explores how an economy grounded in the sharing of the earth’s gifts might offer an alternative to the logics of scarcity and ownership that dominate our societies. This vision is rooted in an ancestral teaching, that of the "One Bowl and One Spoon," which suggests that essential resources—water, land, forests—should not be hoarded but managed in common, with respect and reciprocity. Robin Wall Kimmerer observes that this approach, far from being utopian, has long allowed communities to sustain abundance rather than scarcity. Yet she insists: changing policies is not enough. Scarcity and abundance are not merely economic realities but states of mind and spirit. She invites each of us to remember that our ancestors, at some point in their history, belonged to cultures where gratitude structured relationships with the earth. Reclaiming this memory could act as a remedy against the predatory logics now threatening ecosystems. The practice of gratitude, she argues, allows us to distinguish between consumerist demands and true needs. It celebrates a form of wealth understood as the capacity to share, where value is measured by mutually beneficial relationships rather than accumulation. This stance also transforms our relationship with plants, as illustrated by the example of sweetgrass. Robin Wall Kimmerer recounts her attempts to restore this sacred plant, first by cultivating it in a nursery using scientific methods. Yet despite optimal conditions, sweetgrass only truly thrives when tended by harvesters who gather it with respect, within a framework of reciprocal care. This observation extends beyond ecology: it is about restoring a relationship between humans and plants, where mutual care becomes the condition for vitality. Scientists, she notes, often focus on material parameters—soil pH, hydrology—while overlooking the spiritual dimension. Yet Indigenous teachings, such as the Thanksgiving Address, offer ways to weave matter and spirit together. She dreams of a time when the earth itself might offer gratitude to humans—not because we have earned it, but because we have fulfilled our obligations toward it. Sweetgrass, for instance, cannot be sold: it is sacred, and those who attempt to commodify it are dissuaded by the keepers of this tradition. Harvesters gather it with care, for their own use and that of their community, always offering something in return. Braids of sweetgrass circulate as gifts, honoring, thanking, healing, or strengthening bonds. Their value grows with each exchange, for it is in the very movement of the gift that their richness resides. This logic stands in stark contrast to that of private property, where exclusion is the norm. Practices such as posting land against trespass, for example, are expected and accepted in a property economy but are unacceptable in an economy where land is seen as a gift to all. Practices like posting "No Trespassing" signs on land, for example, are expected and accepted in an ownership-based economy—but they are unthinkable in an economy where land is regarded as a gift meant for all. *[Une voix de l'intérieur]* Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist and Potawatomi citizen, writes from a situated perspective: that of a scientist trained in Western ecology, but also an inheritor of Indigenous knowledge. Her work *Braiding Sweetgrass* weaves these two perspectives together without conflating them. The rendering of the above quotation is an in-house translation, faithful to the spirit of the original text. ## A Gift Economy Against the Logic of Enclosure For Robin Wall Kimmerer, the earth is not a possession to be owned but a gift to be shared. This vision challenges common practices, such as restricting access to territory in the name of private property. In an economy where land is a common gift, such restrictions make no sense: they break the cycle of reciprocity that allows life to renew itself. Sweetgrass, for example, only grows vigorously where humans maintain a relationship of respect and gratitude with it. If that relationship is severed, the plant withers, as if it carried within it the memory of broken bonds. This idea of a memory held by plants and places is not a metaphor but a concrete observation. Robin Wall Kimmerer recounts how, despite optimal nursery conditions, sweetgrass only regains its vitality when returned to a context where humans fulfill their responsibilities toward it. Scientists, by focusing on the technical aspects of ecological restoration, often overlook this relational dimension. Yet it is this dimension that makes the difference between a plant that merely survives and one that thrives. ## Gratitude as a Political Act The gratitude Robin Wall Kimmerer envisions is not a passive attitude but an active commitment. It requires recognizing the earth’s gifts and responding with concrete gestures: sharing, giving back, caring. In a society where everything is commodified, this practice may seem subversive. Yet it offers a way out of the predatory logics that deplete resources and relationships. By celebrating the richness of connections rather than possessions, it proposes another way of measuring value. This vision aligns with a broader critique of dominant economic systems. For Robin Wall Kimmerer, scarcity is not inevitable but the result of a mindset. By cultivating gratitude, we can transform this perception and open the way to shared abundance. This does not mean ignoring the limits of ecosystems but approaching them with a different intention: not to extract the maximum but to care for them so they may continue to give. ## Reweaving the Bonds For Robin Wall Kimmerer, ecological restoration is not limited to replanting species or rebalancing chemical cycles. It also involves restoring relationships between humans and the living world. Plants, animals, rivers—each has its own way of interacting with the world, and humans are but one thread in this web. By reconnecting with practices of gratitude, we may hope to find a harmonious place within this fabric. This approach is not reserved for those who belong to Indigenous cultures. Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us that each of us carries the memory of these ancient relationships. Reclaiming this memory means equipping ourselves to transform our relationship with the world—not by turning back, but by inventing new ways of living together, with the earth and all its inhabitants. ## Sources - Robin Wall Kimmerer, *Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants* — Le lotus et l'éléphant, 2021, trans. Véronique Minder Canonical source : https://viasophia.org/en/reenchanter/2026-10-09-gratitude-technologie-reparation-monde/