Recognizing “enoughness” is a radical act in an economy that is always urging us to consume more.

This quote from the middle of Chapter 1 highlights the overconsumption present in the modern economy that drives us toward individual accumulation, as opposed to common wealth. Kimmerer argues that recognizing abundance in our daily lives is the key to understanding gift economies, which are based on shared wealth and equity, with social ties valued far more than private property. Recognizing “enoughness” is also a large part of gratitude, which calls for recognition, responsibility, and reciprocity. Anyone who feels grateful feels satisfied and does not need to consume more to be happy.

To name the world as a gift is to feel your membership in a web of reciprocity.

This quote from the beginning of Chapter 2 invites the reader to consider how gifts generate and strengthen relationships. When a gift is exchanged, a bond is formed between the giver and the receiver, creating a sense of gratitude and happiness within the receiver that encourages him or her to pay the gift forward. This goodwill and satisfaction are key to the functioning of a gift economy. Naming the world itself as a gift thus creates a bond between people and the earth, ensuring care for the earth and also ensuring responsible use of its other gifts.

Thriving is possible only if you have nurtured strong bonds with your community.

Kimmerer emphasizes common wealth over individual wealth several times, including in Chapter 6, where this quote is from. The serviceberry economy described in Chapter 6 can only thrive if all of its members are thriving, and if they share the strong, reciprocal bonds that allow the economy to function. If the birds did not have a strong bond with the serviceberries, their seeds would not be spread, and fewer trees would grow, resulting in less berries for the birds in the long run. The same, Kimmerer argues, applies to human communities as well, especially given that human beings require social bonds to thrive.

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