2026 THEME

Across spiritual traditions, the way is sustained by sacred community. For millennia, the creation of Sangha has been the very foundation of spiritual life. There is a beautiful story in which the Buddha’s attendant Ananda shares his realisation that friendship is an important part of the path. The Buddha gently corrects him: friendship is not a part of the path. It is the path. To walk together is to create Sangha: to cultivate friendship with ourselves, with one another, and with the living world.

Echoing the Lakota prayer Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ, We Are All Related, our theme calls us into remembrance. Humans, animals, plants, waters, stones, ancestors, spirits, and unseen beings all belong to one sacred family. Walking Together asks us to extend care to all of this family, even to those we struggle to understand or recognise.

The Diné people speak of the Beauty Way, Hózhóó ji, a lifelong philosophy of living in balance, harmony, and connection with all creation. It is an active spirituality, requiring moral endurance and conscious dedication to right relationship with oneself, one’s community, and the divine.
Drawing from these deep wells, we remember and honour our kinship with these Blessed Isles. As we welcome and walk in relationship with families and communities around the world, we nourish the deep roots of our belonging on these shores.

Walking Together, A Pilgrimage of the Heart is our living prayer, a commitment to move in harmony, tend our relationships, and create the conditions for peace. With each step both an act of devotion and creation, we may find that with a little grace, we are already creating the beautiful world we know in our hearts is possible.

A huge thank you to one of our favourite visionary artists on the planet, Autumn Skye for bringing this year’s theme to life with breathtaking beauty and devotion in this entirely hand painted piece.