“Only in the search do we become wise…”
Musings on the farewell of Damiaan Messing, pioneer of the Walk of Wisdom
At a festive New Year’s meeting, we said goodbye to our coordinator and founder Damiaan. About fifteen years ago, he came up with the idea for a pilgrimage route where reflection and connection between people and nature would be central, without being tied to a specific religious tradition. Together with Manja, who is still one of our coordinators, he made this idea a reality. The Walk of Wisdom has been around for almost 10 years now and we expect the 20,000th pilgrim soon! During the meeting, Damien was presented with a crown, a playful reference to everything that has been achieved, but especially to a personal training program that he wants to do when continuing his path. From his own monastery studio in Amsterdam, Damiaan will explore new paths and continue his part-time work as a companion to seniors with dementia living at home. Many thanks Damiaan, for all your inspiration and for your unbridled commitment!
In consultation with Damiaan, we decided not to do a very extensive farewell interview. Instead, I put four questions to him that were as concise as possible. Four as a reference to the main cardinal directions that you can find on each compass and that allow you to orient yourself when you are on the road in unfamiliar territory.
Damien, the question has been asked to many others and the word is part of the name of our pilgrimage, but what do you think is wisdom?
“Wisdom for me is the ability to make room for love within the possibilities and limitations of a concrete situation.
For example, on a small scale: on the cycle paths in the evening rush hour of Amsterdam I feel unsafe because of all the crowds and fat bikes. I choose to wear a bicycle helmet. The helmet gives me the feeling of security that allows me to maintain my freedom of movement. That freedom is worth more to me than the discomfort and the ‘good looks’. For someone else, the consideration may be different, but for me personally this feels wise. I accept the hustle and bustle and my fear and still make sure that I can continue to do what I want to do.
Example, on a large scale: humanity is the most powerful species on earth, but it is destroying it. I don’t think it’s wise to want drastic environmental measures, while a large part of the population doesn’t want them. That’s a recipe for argument. However, I also don’t think it’s wise to do nothing. That is a recipe for big problems and therefore arguments in the future. How? Only in the search for this answer do we become homo sapiens – wise man.”
And if you could link one image or saying to the Walk of Wisdom , which one would it be and why?
“Then I like to choose a saying and an image. The saying is, “The universe takes care of the details.” A pilgrim wrote about this as a core experience of her journey. It annoys me immensely, because look at all that shit: war, Auschwitz, poverty … THE UNIVERSE TAKES CARE OF THE DETAILS?! But it also intrigues me: so much beauty is happening. The sun shines every day. Gravity ensures that we do not float away. All that oxygen… And at the Walk of Wisdom , Manja and I have been helped by so many people that I think: yes, as if … Indeed… the universe …
When I think of a statue, I immediately think of the 2.2 meter high statue of ‘the Pilgrim’ in the Stevenskerk, which Huub and Adelheid Kortekaas made and which is the symbol of the Walk of Walk of Wisdom. I have been told that this is the most photographed object in the church. Many pilgrims have their picture taken afterwards. This is where the individual journeys of the pilgrims come together. It’s exactly the free kind of connection I longed for at the beginning of the Walk of Wisdom .”
What has the Walk of Wisdom brought you the most personally?
“Ever since I was 11 years old, I have had a sense of calling to bring something good into the world. I searched and did a lot to stay true to it. It all came together in the Walk of Wisdom . In 10 years, almost 20,000 pilgrims have now walked the journey and the reactions are almost all positive. That fills me with pride and satisfaction.
On the other hand, I also discovered the dark side of my idealism during the Walk of Wisdom . I sometimes worked myself over and didn’t always take good care of myself. Nice and nice that pilgrimage in Nijmegen, I thought further, but I wanted a pilgrimage route all over the world! When others thought it was too early for that, I could kill them. Fortunately, I didn’t, but it made me feel good why so much bad has happened in history in the name of noble ideals. I now cherish peace and contentment.”
What new experience do you hope for the most when continuing your path?
“I love to let go of all the arranging for a while. I still feel a sense of calling. But which form best suits that is still under development.
The content is already clearer to me. The philosopher Arnold Ziegelaar calls it ‘earthly mysticism’. In my own words: a feeling of connection with the ‘whole and all’ without turning it into a fairy tale and giving up sober thinking. It is a sense of the mystery of existence and a desire to connect with it. I would like to grow into this – while writing and doing.
Moreover, one of the forms is already emerging. I develop lectures on the search for wisdom. A quest that – like a real pilgrimage – is never finished, but which does take us further by going through it. I recite wise texts from our cultural heritage from my head and heart. Starting with the Bible book of Ecclesiastes. An extraordinarily ‘earthly’ book full of wisdom, of which my great-uncle Pé Hawinkels made a brilliant translation together with the idiosyncratic monk Pius Drijvers:
“Everything there is is far from us. Because unfathomable, unfathomable is reality. Who dares to say that he can reach it with his mind? Who dares to call himself one of the wise men? Who knows the explanation of what surrounds us?”
As a former speechwriter, I allow myself the freedom to edit and shorten the text slightly. The lecture lasts about 12 minutes. I am looking for place and opportunity!”
