This book is about the natural economy of gift giving and reciprocity--a situation in which you freely take as it was freely given, just as nature intended it to be. Each creation has the natural ability to take and give back.
I think the cover conveys what the author is trying to say as it shows the bird picking the serviceberries to fill up what their tummy can carry (and implicitly telling how they give back to nature with what their guts produce). The book portrays the simple idea of symbiosis and reciprocity without accumulation.
The book is a short read but is dense with naturalistic and practical approaches to the gift economy. In thinking about it, I'm reminded of the idea a friend of mine shared with me-- that in their residential communal area, the residents share things that they no longer need. I think it is a simple gesture that promotes the gift economy and generosity within the community.
Lastly, another example of a symbiotic act would be like when I went to church, and I've seen somebody whom I have not seen for the longest time. And this person gave me this so good to see me hug and I can't help it but to give another person a hug. It just doesn't stop, and it keeps going. Just like the serviceberries will survive, thrive and not disappear into extinction because of the natural process of taking and giving back.
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