--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: John Hay, in The Immortal Wilderness…" description: "\"“John Hay, in The Immortal Wilderness , has written: 'There are occasions when you can hear the mysterious language of the Earth, in water, or coming t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/linda-hogan-14661_every-night_john-hay-in-the-immortal-wilderness-has_267750.jpg" --- # John Hay, in The Immortal Wilderness , has written: 'There… ![“John Hay, in The Immortal Wilderness , has written: 'There are occasions when you can hear the mysterious language of the Earth, in water, or coming through the trees, emanating from the mosses, seeping through the undercurrents of the soil, but you have to be willing to wait and receive.'…” quote by Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/linda-hogan-14661_every-night_john-hay-in-the-immortal-wilderness-has_267750.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/linda-hogan-14661_every-night_john-hay-in-the-immortal-wilderness-has_267750.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/linda-hogan-14661_every-night_john-hay-in-the-immortal-wilderness-has_267750.jpg) > ““John Hay, in The Immortal Wilderness , has written: 'There are occasions when you can hear the mysterious language of the Earth, in water, or coming through the trees, emanating from the mosses, seeping through the undercurrents of the soil, but you have to be willing to wait and receive.' Sometimes I hear it talking. The light of the sunflower was one language, but there are others more audible. Once, in the redwood forest, I heard a beat, something like a drum or a heart coming from the ground and trees and wind. That underground current stirred a kind of knowing inside me, a kinship and longing, a dream barely remembered that disappeared back to the body… Tonight, I walk. I am watching the sky. I think of the people who came before me and how they knew the placement of the stars in the sky, watching the moving sun long and hard enough to witness how a certain angle of light touched a stone only once a year. Without written records, they knew the gods of every night, the small, fine details of the world around them and the immensity above them. Walking, I can almost hear the redwoods beating…It is a world of elemental attention, of all things working together, listening to what speaks in the blood. Whichever road I follow, I walk in the land of many gods, and they love and eat one another. Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.”” [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lyrical meditation on listening to Earth's subtle signals, connecting personal ancestry with natural cycles. **In simple terms:** Listening to nature reveals deep connections and ancestral wisdom. Key Takeaway Cultivate attentiveness to natural rhythms. Themes nature spirituality ancestry Mood reflective reverent Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - forest walks - meditation - environmental education Key Concepts ecology mindfulness mythology Questions to Reflect On - What does the earth 'speak' to you? - How can ancestral knowledge inform modern life? A Different Perspective May romanticize nature, ignoring scientific perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-night/) [Stars in the sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars-in-the-sky/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Willing to wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-to-wait/) [Working together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-together/) ## Related quotes > [Walking, I can almost hear the redwoods beating. And the oceans are above me here, rolling clouds, heavy and dark. It is winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/walking-i-can-almost-hear-the-redwoods-beating-and-the-oceans-are/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [Walking. I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/walking-i-am-listening-to-a-deeper-way-suddenly-all-my-ancestors-are/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [The sheer act of listening speaks volumes that even a great speech can't communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-sheer-act-of-listening-speaks-volumes-that-even-a-great-speech/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“The best teachers have showed me that things have to be done bit by bit. Nothing that means anything happens quickly--we only think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/the-best-teachers-have-showed-me-that-things-have-to-be-done-bit-by-2/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) > [Being in New York, I have fallen in love with walking and listening to podcasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-campbell/being-in-new-york-i-have-fallen-in-love-with-walking-and-listening-to/) [Danielle Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-campbell/) > [I like walking around and listening to music. 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With millions of other Negroes in other walks of life, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-robinson/today-negroes-play-on-every-big-league-club-and-in-every-minor-league/) [Jackie Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-robinson/) > [“It isn’t violence that can break through our hearts. It isn’t force that binds us and keeps us together. Only tenderness has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-soriano/it-isn-t-violence-that-can-break-through-our-hearts-it-isn-t-force/) [Jocelyn Soriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-soriano/) > [“One of the great lessons I learned while making my second film, Furious Love, was just how limitless God’s patience is. We seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-wilson/one-of-the-great-lessons-i-learned-while-making-my-second-film/) [Darren Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-wilson/) > [“One of Lucy's admirers took to her, apparently." "Took to her?" echoes William, his own feelings for Sugar causing him to construe the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-faber/one-of-lucy-s-admirers-took-to-her-apparently-took-to-her-echoes/) [Michel Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-faber/) > [A person who really loves you is willing to wait for you until the right time will come, and that you can already say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-mae-sajo-gallego/a-person-who-really-loves-you-is-willing-to-wait-for-you-until-the/) [Christine Mae Sajo Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-mae-sajo-gallego/) ## More by Linda Hogan > [A spoken story is larger than one unheard, unsaid. In nearly all creation accounts, words or songs are how the world was created, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/a-spoken-story-is-larger-than-one-unheard-unsaid-in-nearly-all/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/there-is-a-way-that-nature-speaks-that-land-speaks-most-of-the-time/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [Between earth and earth's atmosphere, the amount of water remains constant; there is never a drop more, never a drop less. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/between-earth-and-earth-s-atmosphere-the-amount-of-water-remains/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [Let's kneel down through all the worlds of the body like lovers. 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What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/once-when-i-was-younger-i-went-out-and-sat-under-the-sky-and-looked/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [And there is also the paradox that the dominating culture imbues the Indian past with great meaning and significance; it is valued more because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/and-there-is-also-the-paradox-that-the-dominating-culture-imbues-the/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [It is a paradox in the contemporary world that in our desire for peace we must willingly give ourselves to struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/it-is-a-paradox-in-the-contemporary-world-that-in-our-desire-for/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [Poetry is a string of words that parades without a permit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/poetry-is-a-string-of-words-that-parades-without-a-permit/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [“Perhaps it was the word "God" that was inviting to me, a word I thought I knew too much about. The one who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/perhaps-it-was-the-word-god-that-was-inviting-to-me-a-word-i-thought/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [Telling about our lives is important for those who come after as, for those who will see our experience as part of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/telling-about-our-lives-is-important-for-those-who-come-after-as-for/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [ “What finally turned me back toward the older traditions of my own \[Chickasaw\] and other Native peoples was the inhumanity of the Western world,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/what-finally-turned-me-back-toward-the-older-traditions-of-my-own/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) > [I resented my mother for guessing my innermost secrets. She was like God, everywhere at once knowing everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hogan/i-resented-my-mother-for-guessing-my-innermost-secrets-she-was-like/) [Linda Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) [Explore all 45 Linda Hogan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hogan/) ## More Every night quotes > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You can date every girl in town as far as I’m concerned. I hate you. 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That underground current stirred a kind of knowing inside me, a kinship and longing, a dream barely remembered that disappeared back to the body… Tonight, I walk. I am watching the sky. I think of the people who came before me and how they knew the placement of the stars in the sky, watching the moving sun long and hard enough to witness how a certain angle of light touched a stone only once a year. Without written records, they knew the gods of every night, the small, fine details of the world around them and the immensity above them. Walking, I can almost hear the redwoods beating…It is a world of elemental attention, of all things working together, listening to what speaks in the blood. Whichever road I follow, I walk in the land of many gods, and they love and eat one another. Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. 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