Braiding Sweetgrass

In the novel  Braiding sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer spends a lot of  time talking about the difference between a gift and commodity. She describes a gift as something that comes from earth that establishes a on going relationship. Ones gift should never come with a price tag. A commodity is described as a equal exchange, no bond, relationship or inherent obligation. Throughout the chapter we are given stories to understand the deeper concept and how they affected her life. She tells the story of her gift given memory on father's day and how they would always make his favorite Strawberry shortcake from the strawberry in the field. She states “our gifts was time and attention and care”(pg.25). Allows the reads to see what a gift contains.

Growing up the day before mother's day I would spend my whole day in the living room trying to find something special to make. From cards, posters ,homemade pillows , flowers picking I did it all. Anything I could get my hands on I would make the best out of it. Every year my moms face would light up with one, Surprise of  how I even made what she was holding and second,  joy from the gift she was receiving. She would always say “Anything you make me will always make me Happy because you made it. I’m thankful”. Growing older I started to buy gifts because that's what older people did right?  My concept was the more expensive the gift the happier the receiver would be. In my years of gifts buying I started to find myself stuck , should i get something  useful , pretty, one time deal or clothes. Gifts shopping became indifferent and dull. It had lost its true meaning.

This reading was an eye opener for me personally. Growing up your told “ your parents have to say that” or “they don't want to hurt your feeling”. Society teaches us to buy love and to win people over. It is whats in those homemade gifts that takes you hours to make vs shopping for hours trying to find a gift that you see the time , dedication and love that was put in the make the gift. It's not until the person in front or in back of you in line has the same item that you wonder is this the right gift for your special someone , knowing someone's else will receive the same. Its through the gifts that come from earth and that are handmade that have no price tag on it that cant be resembled and valued unconditionally.