Many pilgrims took the plunge

For the second time, ‘The Walk of Wisdom in a Year Round’ has been completed. Ten silent walks on ten Sundays along the route of the Walk of Walk of Wisdom. The pilgrims Patricia Akkermans, Lidy van Lie Peters, Marja Hakkoer, Anja van Wegen, Hans Peerden and René van Nieuwkuijk prepared the walks. René wrote an impression on the occasion of the last part: from Beuningen to the end point of Nijmegen.

Sunday 10 February was the last silent walk of this season. We called them pilgrimage moments in day format. In 2017, Walk of Wisdom board members Hans Peerden and Damiaan Messing took the initiative to offer the route in stages with silent walks. It was an instant success. Also this second year we have welcomed many people. Rain or shine; The silence pulls.

… And we went along

When we restarted in May 2018, we didn’t immediately know how our vision would change. A daring leap. With that challenging image, we connected ourselves to the area in which part of our route runs. We took the plunge. We didn’t know how far. We always made a connection with ‘Nijmegen Green Capital 2018’. When we returned to the city, we found an empty, bright spot at Kelfskensbos, where the information pavilion stood all year round. We didn’t really know how light.

However, the light has been merciful to us all the time, for it accompanied us for the long time. Broke through rain and wind and lifted our feet. We don’t know how many times we’ll be back. But several participants said they would definitely do part of the route again. In a different season. Alone. Or the whole Walk Of Wisdom again.

Once we arrived at the Spiegelwaal on the quay of Veur-Lent (with a view of Nijmegen) we stopped. Patricia read the poem that Anne Vegter, former Poet Laureate, chiseled into 600 metres of quay there.

Wedon’t know yet how
fast everything changes, how quickly your vision changes
until you are what you change,
how quickly the child stores itself inside you.

Wedon’t know yet how far everything goes,
how far the echo of your vocals reaches,
how far you go or bend.

We don’t yet know how light everything is.
how light wearing your happiness-
how light of detail the weight-

We don’t know yet how pale everything is,
How often the city sparkles in your eye,
how often love is an act of pleasure.

“Look, the city is drifting by!”
“Do you see anything?”
“Did you say anything?”

You draw a bed on the water.
“Are you waiting for me there?”
We don’t yet know when you’ll take a leap of faith.

At the end we drank a delicious glass of farewell in establishment De Pelgrim under the roof of De Hemel. Joy about the bond that had grown with each other prevailed. With the inevitable melancholy of the ‘partir, c’est mourir un peu’.

Photos: Marja Hakkoer

P.S. A number of people completed their Walk of Wisdom with this last stage. The Stevenskerk in Nijmegen is currently closed due to construction work, but caretaker Rens was kind enough to receive the pilgrims and write them in the book of the Walk of Wisdom . They were allowed to have their picture taken at symbol Pilgrim.