If we think of the Earth as a big warehouse of commodities, as mere objects, we claim a kind of privilege to exploit what we believe that we own. In that property mindset, how we consume doesn’t really matter because it’s just stuff and the stuff all belongs to us. There’s no moral constraint on consumption. And so we find ourselves in a time of ecological and spiritual depletion.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry

My friend Jeff and I both just finished reading a book titled The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The above quote from her book stuck out for both of us and brought up a wonderfully enriching conversation this morning. Every once in a while we enter into such conversations which allows us to get to know and experience ourselves better at deeper levels. At least that’s true for me. I am aware of the amount of consumerism I partake in and have been practicing more moral constraint in my consumption the past few years. I am also aware of how much marketing is placed in front of me every day to increase my consumption. I took the above image this morning on my bicycle ride to the coffee shop. This is the same cottonwood tree elder as yesterday but looking from Stuart St. just before I turn onto Fisher Natural Area. I loved the clouds!! They say possible rain this afternoon so to help out I started dancing and rolled all the windows down in my car.