Shallow?

Just over three months to the opening of our ‘walk’ on 21 June and the subscriptions for the newsletter are coming in steadily: at the moment more than 350 people have subscribed to the mailing.

Nevertheless, there have also been a few deregistrations in recent months. One woman took the trouble to justify her decision: she thought the walk of wisdom was too much marketing with too little depth. 

As a pioneer, I can focus on the benevolence and enthusiasm that I regularly encounter, it is also good to look at criticism – even if it comes from a single person. Superficiality is not something you want to portray as a pilgrimage route. 

In part, the criticism is justified. The walk of wisdom has not yet opened, the route is no more than a ‘seedling’ – in the words of the artists behind the icon of our route. 

A new tradition doesn’t just happen. She needs time to grow. This requires attention, commitment and involvement. That attention is there, although as a pioneer I notice that at the moment my attention is largely focused on ‘arranging and rustling’. I often lack time and peace to write or meditate and so I let the goal – the opening of a beautiful route – get the upper hand over the road: to experience prudence and contentment on my path. 

Fortunately, I also realize that arranging, rustling and marketing are part of getting something done. The memory of returning to the depths of my feelings is nevertheless good; I see this woman’s criticism as an encouragement for my own inner wisdom that urges me to take time. To seek peace. To stretch my legs on that one bench in the forest where the sun shines so beautifully.

And let’s face it: the real depth of the walk does not come from the route or the organization, the nature, stops or people on the road, but from the willingness to open up to what you experience and carry with you. Wisdom is probably the oldest tradition in the world. It cannot be fixed or standardized. No person or group can claim access to her. Wisdom is present wherever people listen to their experiences.

The only ambition we can entertain in the face of wisdom is to organize the right conditions in which it will flourish. If we create a route that lifts people above their own world and brings them into contact with that of others and around them, we are making a nice attempt. I would like to thank everyone who is helping with this.