In weaving well-being for land and people, we need to pay attention to the lessons of the three rows. Ecological well-being and the laws of nature are always the first row. Without them, there is no basket of plenty. Only if that first circle is in place can we weave the second. The second reveals material welfare, the subsistence of human needs. Economy built upon ecology. But with only two rows in place, the basket is still in jeopardy of pulling apart. It's only when the third row comes that the first two can hold together. Here is where ecology, economics, and spirit are woven together. By using materials as if they were a gift, and returning the gift through worthy use, we find balance. I think that third row goes by many names: Respect. Reciprocity. All Our Relations. I think of it as the spirit row. Whatever the name, the three rows represent recognition that our lives depend on one another, human needs being only one row in the basket that must hold us all. In relationship, the separate splints become a whole basket, sturdy and resilient enough to carry us into the future.

⚘ Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

"How do we connect? Decolonizing our information and communication technologies (ICT), meant for me, first, to understand the tools and networks we use and how they are entangled in violent ecological, political, social systems of extraction and exploitation. Second, to realize the alarming impact on our collective physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Third, to acknowledge our complicity and seek alternatives. We have other tools! That’s how I came to spiritual technologies – tapping into ancestral or plant networks. We may not even need any tools, such as with telepathy. The tool alone doesn’t determine the quality of our connection; we need to develop sensitivity to deepen our ability to reach." - Tabita Rezaire