Every traditional culture originates from the deep bond between a territory and its inhabitants. It is the land people inhabit that shapes, informs, and inspires them, whispering the language they speak—sounds and words specific to the landscape. The landforms, climate, animals, vegetation, minerals, spirits, and other ancestral beings of these lands inspire and communicate the songs, dances, rituals, and practices needed to maintain these intimate, reciprocal, and multidimensional relationships. These are respectful relationships in which humans receive from the Earth and give in return.

While the cultures, practices, and traditions of other lands can inspire those who have forgotten their roots, it is essential to remember that our ancestors also maintained a sacred link with all living things. Hearing the voices of the Earth is an innate capacity of our human essence, as we emanate from it; it flows through our veins.

The ability to communicate with what we now call the unseen does not make us special—it simply makes us human. Beyond any spiritual practice or proclaimed status, remembering these intimate relationships begins by hearing and respecting the earth beneath our feet.

If we want a better world, it is time to slow down and relearn how to listen to the environment in which we live. We must allow it to inform and guide us toward the care, practices, and rituals necessary for our times—practices that can serve both our local human community and the more-than-human world. Our ancestors, whose wisdom, songs, dances, rituals, and stories we have often forgotten, are there at the crossroads of the worlds. They are waiting to remind us of who we are and to help us reinvent practices specific to our land and the realities of our time.