What if there is another story that is longing to be remembered?
The modern industrialized world has long spun a tale of separation and human supremacy—humans as exceptional, set apart from nature, reigning atop the evolutionary pyramid. Yet, Indigenous worldviews tell a different story—one in which humans are not masters of the Earth but kin, woven into the intricate web of life.
The Potawatomi tells the creation story of Skywoman, who fell from the heavens and was caught by the animals, planting the seeds of a world built on reciprocity. The Andean peoples speak of Pachamama, who is honored as the giver of life, with offerings made in return to maintain balance. The Celts honor Danu, the Mother Goddess, whose flowing waters connect people intimately with the land. The Norse people speak of the World Tree whose roots and branches connect all realms of existence, with humans, gods, and nature interwoven together. In the Dreaming stories of Aboriginal Australia, the land itself was sung into being with humans entrusted to keep the song alive. These stories, and countless others from every cultural tradition, remind us that humanity’s true nature is not one of dominion, but of deep, relational belonging.
Remembering the old stories can help us to rewrite our future. They remind us of humanity’s place as embedded in the web of life, and nurtured through kinship and reciprocity. And, maybe, in this moment of societal unravelling, these ancient stories can point the way forward. What if the collapse we see all around us is not just an ending, but a threshold–an invitation to take an evolutionary leap into an ancient way of being–one the Earth has been waiting for us to remember?
This isn’t just an intellectual shift. It’s a metamorphosis—one that transforms how we see ourselves, how we relate to the living world, and how we awaken to our place within it. It’s a transformation that calls us to fall in love with the Earth again—not just as an idea, but as a lived experience felt in our bodies. It asks us to remember that she is alive, sentient, and loving us in return.
To explore this transformation, Pachamama Alliance is engaging in a deep inquiry and dialogue with Indigenous leaders and visionary thinkers. Together, we are exploring what it takes to catalyze an evolutionary leap from our species’ dominant way of being of human supremacy to one of human responsibility and sacred reciprocity with all of life.
The Story We Need Now
One of the leaders we have been listening to is Indigenous botanist, author and professor, Robin Wall Kimmerer, who asks what if we saw the world as gift, as kin, as relative—not as resource—how would we behave differently? If we knew the river as our grandmother, what choices would we make?
She says that sacred reciprocity is not just about giving back; it is about becoming people who belong, who tend, who listen to the land, who understand that our fate is woven into the fate of all beings. It’s a shift from the "small I" to the interconnected “We”. And it’s not enough to think about it.
Sacred reciprocity must be lived, felt, experienced—with our hands in the dirt—rewilding our ecosystems, protecting the waters, taking care of each other, taking only what is needed, offering something in return, and honoring our grief and our gratitude in daily practice and in ceremony.
Reclaiming Our Power: A Mad Love Affair with the Earth
Indigenous teacher and longtime Pachamama Alliance friend, Pat McCabe, Woman Stands Shining, also poses a powerful question: "What if, instead of sustainability, we had a mad love affair with the Earth?"
What if we transformed our orientation from “fighting” to protect life to celebrating it, nurturing it, and creating the conditions for all life to thrive? By shifting our worldview from extraction to relationship, from entitlement to gratitude, this love affair restores our collective power— capable of regenerating the world through our choices and care.
One practice of reciprocity is to listen deeply for guidance from life’s intelligence—to open ourselves to the wisdom from the Earth, the Cosmos, or the Spirit of life itself. To ask humbly: How do we, as humanity, restore reciprocity with the land where we live? How do we regenerate ecosystems and communities? How do we engage in repair for the harm we’ve caused? How do we align our economic, social, and spiritual lives with the principles of mutual thriving? These are beautiful questions we can hold in our hearts and live into together.
Remembering Our Sacred Role
At its heart, sacred reciprocity is about remembering humanity’s place in this thrumming web of life and becoming good ancestors. As humans step into sacred responsibility for our descendants, we become co-creators of a future where all life can flourish. The time is now.
“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
