Quietly cleared
On Saturday 22 February, a group of 16 pilgrims pricked seven large bags of litter on the ugliest part of the route: the road over the canal and highway between Malden and the Hatertse Vennen. There is always a lot of rubbish here and we have clearly made the world a bit more beautiful! Report: Manja Bente. Haiku: Ricky Rieter. Photos: Anja van Wegen
It was a bit drizzly weather when we left on our way to the 5th silent walk in the series of ten ‘the Walk of Wisdom in a year around’. On the bike with the squeeze poles to pick up rubbish during the first half of the tour.
Hans, former board member, who was in charge of the silent walk this time, read a beautiful story. It was about a group of birds that went in search of finding God, but where they arrived, they unfortunately could not find God. At one point above a vast lake, they saw a reflection of themselves and saw: God is in us. We are God together. It was nice that at the end of the trip someone suggested: “I felt while cleaning up that we were those birds.”
We all worked until the break to clean up trash that others “accidentally” dropped. At one point we came to a place, on a dirt road, where it looked like a group of about 15 MacDonalds people had eaten food. After looking at that in bewilderment, I have to say that I myself had doubts whether we would clean all that up. But we all went at it and it was as if nothing had happened. That felt good!
We were received very hospitably in the B&B of Machteld Meij and Ronald Baksteen in the Hatertse Vennen. The wood stove was burning and as a big surprise we were spoiled with two delicious apple pies, hot coffee and tea. Coincidentally, we had a birthday boy among us…
Finally I put on my shoes again and on to the next part, well against the wind. It was the third storm in a successive weekend, blown clean, blown through, sometimes even almost blown away by the wind that took everything with it. We have now reached the halfway point of the route.
Manja Bente, co-developer of the Walk of Wisdom
Haikus at silent walk on 22 February 2020
Litter on paths,
Grabbing and grabbing rubbish,
Restoration of beauty
If not in life:
Don’t grab, don’t grab, but
received with giving.
Harmony in the forest,
Harmony in life
Restored nature
Ricky Rieter, pilgrim and one of the participants
