A personal and planetary journey into language, kinship, and the field of becoming. This first piece in the “Thrutopian WAEfinding” series traces the emergence of Earthian as more than a word. But a way of remembering how to belong.
I came here because I saw "Earthian" on your LinkedIn profile and was intrigued by the word. I love your interpretation of it and it resonates,and it also brings to my mind "Earthling" which I have a great fondness for, as a word. The "ling" suffix feels to me like there's care involved, a tenderness, like we might feel toward a young one needing care: hatchling, fledgling, sapling, darling. As many indigenous cultures and evolution tellnus, humans are youngsters here on Earth, the younger siblings of the other animals. So maybe humans are Earthlings, just the youngest of the many Earthians, who include all the members of the more-than-human world.
Thank you Catalin, I really love your reflection 🙏
Earthling does carry a beautiful tenderness, especially in that -ling suffix, like sapling, darling, or starling. There’s a softness to it and an innocence, like we have to be tender to ourselves and all Earthlings. And yet, I’ve also felt how it can subtly "other", especially given its history in science fiction, where it’s often used through an alien gaze that sees humans as small, naive, or separate.
Earthlings (two syllables) is also easier to say compared to Earthians (three syllables).
In semiotics (the study of signs and meaning) we might say Earthling functions as an exonym: a name given from the outside, often positioning the subject as "other". And yes, perhaps we are small and naive in some ways as a part of the whole. But Earthian, for me, emerged as a kind of linguistic rebalancing. A word that invites kinship rather than separation. Less about being from Earth, and more about being of Earth. Reflecting our entanglement with Gaia.
Maybe Earthlings are the tender sprouts… and Earthianhood is the deep root system they’re growing into?
The next piece in this series will explore more of this. Etymologically, linguistically, and metaphysically. But I also just want to say that despite all the dissection and framing I'm doing here in this series, language lives through us. It breathes, morphs, resonates and becomes. And the meaning of a word is not only what it was, but what it does in the mouths, hearts, and bodies of those who speak it and feel it into being.
So thank you again for adding your voice to this collective becoming :)
I am yelling into the wind — to the Apukuna (powerful mountain Gods of the Quechua in Peru), into my LinkedIn and Substack and through all I share into this beautiful world, "I AM EARTHIAN!"
Incredibly resonant @MathewMytka. This morning, with my cacao ritual, a cacao raised and prepared by a beautiful sister, I was brought to tears: tears for the love of my beautiful sisters here in the Sacred Valley bringing the feminine energy to us with such strength and beauty. And tears for the 100+ teen girls at a summer camp and residents lost to the recent Texas floods, and the place where separation is taking us.
My vision calmed into feeling, like a field of blooming flowers. 🙏🏽🌼🌸🌻🌷
I came here because I saw "Earthian" on your LinkedIn profile and was intrigued by the word. I love your interpretation of it and it resonates,and it also brings to my mind "Earthling" which I have a great fondness for, as a word. The "ling" suffix feels to me like there's care involved, a tenderness, like we might feel toward a young one needing care: hatchling, fledgling, sapling, darling. As many indigenous cultures and evolution tellnus, humans are youngsters here on Earth, the younger siblings of the other animals. So maybe humans are Earthlings, just the youngest of the many Earthians, who include all the members of the more-than-human world.
Thank you Catalin, I really love your reflection 🙏
Earthling does carry a beautiful tenderness, especially in that -ling suffix, like sapling, darling, or starling. There’s a softness to it and an innocence, like we have to be tender to ourselves and all Earthlings. And yet, I’ve also felt how it can subtly "other", especially given its history in science fiction, where it’s often used through an alien gaze that sees humans as small, naive, or separate.
Earthlings (two syllables) is also easier to say compared to Earthians (three syllables).
In semiotics (the study of signs and meaning) we might say Earthling functions as an exonym: a name given from the outside, often positioning the subject as "other". And yes, perhaps we are small and naive in some ways as a part of the whole. But Earthian, for me, emerged as a kind of linguistic rebalancing. A word that invites kinship rather than separation. Less about being from Earth, and more about being of Earth. Reflecting our entanglement with Gaia.
Maybe Earthlings are the tender sprouts… and Earthianhood is the deep root system they’re growing into?
The next piece in this series will explore more of this. Etymologically, linguistically, and metaphysically. But I also just want to say that despite all the dissection and framing I'm doing here in this series, language lives through us. It breathes, morphs, resonates and becomes. And the meaning of a word is not only what it was, but what it does in the mouths, hearts, and bodies of those who speak it and feel it into being.
So thank you again for adding your voice to this collective becoming :)
Which utterance brings us into right relation matters more than the semantics. It's somatic resonance that matters more 🌱
I am yelling into the wind — to the Apukuna (powerful mountain Gods of the Quechua in Peru), into my LinkedIn and Substack and through all I share into this beautiful world, "I AM EARTHIAN!"
Incredibly resonant @MathewMytka. This morning, with my cacao ritual, a cacao raised and prepared by a beautiful sister, I was brought to tears: tears for the love of my beautiful sisters here in the Sacred Valley bringing the feminine energy to us with such strength and beauty. And tears for the 100+ teen girls at a summer camp and residents lost to the recent Texas floods, and the place where separation is taking us.
My vision calmed into feeling, like a field of blooming flowers. 🙏🏽🌼🌸🌻🌷
And your transmissions are heard my Earthian sibling, child of Gaia! Thanks so much for sharing your beautifully rich relational context 🙏
May the flowers of the field bloom in this becoming 🌱🌻🌸♾️
Doing what I can to nourish the flowers ;) Thank you for your encouragement.