I chose my “sit spot” at the beginning of September, when shifts in the air were beginning to make me think of permanence and change. I rent an apartment in an old house which sits at the corner of two bustling streets, in the west-end of Toronto. From my front door I can look on to a neighbourhood park which, especially during the pandemic, has become a staple for locals. At this busy intersection I am able to witness my neighbourhood’s ecology – noticing the patterns of the living beings, both human and non-human, who live in this small corner of the city. I sit by my front door under two huge honey-locust trees, on a bed of mulch with an incredibly diverse variety of plants pushing through. Sitting in this space, I am able to notice the contrast between the fleeing presence of humans and the sustained existence of non-human life. One of the huge trees which hangs over my home has grown around a power outlet, while the other’s branches are fused to power lines. As the days become shorter and the seasons change these beings stand tall and permanent. I can’t help but think of what they offer, and how long they’ve given to the people who live at this corner. They’ve watched us come and go, disrupting their space only for a fleeting amount of time compared to the century they have witnessed. Looking at them in this way, grappling with their age and permanence, I question what has been given back to these beings which offer so much?

In her article entitled, “Returning the Gift”, Potawatomi scholar Robin Wall Kimmerer writes profoundly about recognizing all that we have taken, asking readers to reconsider how we understand sustainability, shifting from “trying to find the formula to ensure that we can keep on taking, far into the future” to “‘What does the Earth ask of us?’” (Kimmerer, 2014, p.18). Kimmerer sharply brings into focus the importance of feeling responsibility for all which the Earth offers us, and to meet those by offering our own gifts (Kimmerer, 2014, p.23). Authors Wang et al., speak to the potential which mindfulness presents in people’s connection with nature, promoting “the emotional and cognitive tie between humans and the natural world” and increasing people’s “feeling of being one with nature” ultimately fostering “pro environmental attitudes and behaviours” (Wang et al., 2019, p.17). The authors offer a conceptualization of mindfulness which includes four aspects: the ability to create novel categories, sensitivity and perception to one’s environment, capability to think and solve problems from multiple perspectives and openness to accepting unfamiliar things (Wang et al., 2019, pp. 4-5). The authors offer mindfulness as a way in which to promote “a new pattern of thinking whereby ‘self’ and ‘nature’ overlap and bring about a reconnection and integration between humans and nature” (Wang et al., 2019, p.8).

In trying to apply these ways of understanding both my relationship with the natural world as well as my responsibility to offer gifts back, I have come to a new appreciation for my sit spot. I’ve started paying attention to the plants – investigating them even. Why didn’t I know I had Wood Sorrel growing beside my door, or what it is, or that it’s delicious?! Why didn’t I know that the beautiful flowers under my kitchen window are Rosa Canina and can be used as herbal medicine? I’ve assumed that living in a city means there is a lack of the natural world, when in fact there are intensely resilient examples of it. I wonder if coming to this realization and gaining respect for the persistence of the natural world might inspire city-dwellers to care more deeply about offering gifts back to the Earth? Could respect for the natural world’s persistence to be sustaining and permanent, inspire an ever-changing city to do the same?

References

Kimmerer, R. W. (2014). “Returning the Gift.” Center for Humans and Nature.

Wang, J., Geng, L., Schultz, P. W., & Zhou, K. (2019). Mindfulness increases the belief in climate change: The mediating role of connectedness with nature. Environment and Behavior, 51(1), 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916517738036