From an interview on the CBC show, Tapestry:

Robin Wall Kimmerer posed the question to her forest biology students at the State University of New York, in their final class last March, before the pandemic sent everyone home. 

The answer was at least as useful as anything to be found in the glut of how-to-survive COVID stories that would follow over the next nine months:

• Give more than you take
• Be patient when resources are scarce
• Find creative ways to use what you have 

“Mosses have this ability, rather than demanding a lot from the world, they’re very creative in using what they have, rather than reaching for what they don’t have,” Kimmerer told Tapestry. “When there are limits, the mosses say, ‘Let’s be quiet for a while. Abundance, openness, water, will return. We’ll wait this out.'” … 

Tapestry asked Kimmerer how she would go about cutting flowers to bring into her home.

“I would greet those flowers and say how beautiful they are. I’m so grateful that you’re growing here. And, you know, my mom’s coming over and I want to cheer her up. May I cut some flowers to bring your beauty to her in our house?” explains Kimmerer. “If the answer is yes … I would cut them and give a gift in return and bring them in.” 

~ CBC Radio, on Tapestry, posted on Faceboo

Lichen in Moss – photo by abbet, bigstockphoto.com