A reflection to close the year: Guidelines of the Honorable Harvest ??

As we look to the end of one year and the start of another, many of us are reflecting on the ways that we show up in the world. In her book “The Serviceberry”, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer describes the guidelines of the Honorable Harvest, a concept at the heart of the Dish With One Spoon Treaty.

This agreement is a commitment to living in reciprocity with the land and with each other. We hope that you find something in it to carry with you into the New Year.

“The guidelines of the Honorable Harvest are not usually written down, they are reinforced in small acts of daily life. But if I were to list them they would look something like this:

• Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you can take care of them.
• Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
• Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
• Never take the first one. Never take the last.
• Take only what you need.
• Take only that which is given.
• Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
• Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
• Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
• Share.
• Give thanks for what you have been given.
• Give a gift in reciprocity for what you have taken.
• Sustain the ones who sustain you and the Earth will last forever.”