Thank you earth, for being so patient with us! (letter from Manja to our earth)

The Walk of Wisdom participates in Nijmegen’s Green Capital of Europe 2018. For a few months now, everyone in the Valkhof Chapel in Nijmegen has been able to write an intention for a green lifestyle on a vegetable garden label and ‘plant’ it in a bowl of soil. Co-initiator of the Walk of Wisdom Manja Bente wrote a love letter for the earth with her intention to reduce her plastic consumption.

From 5 to 9 August, Manja will lead a five-day walking week on the Walk of Wisdom (lake).

Dear Earth,

As a child I lived in the polder in Zeeuws Vlaanderen and being outside was a part of my life. I lived with the rhythm of the seasons. In the spring, the beans, onions, sugar beets and potatoes were planted. In the summer, your fields were full of crops, and in the fall, everything was harvested. In winter, your fields were brown and gloomy. It was nice to be aware of the food chain and how beautiful it is that the food is given by you.

That is where the first conscious contact with you is made. I loved cycling around on my own and being out and about in the polder. Enjoyed the chickens, the pigeons and the bees we had.

Still, as a child, I was worried about the poison that was sprayed as I cycled past it and inhaled the fumes. I often went with my parents and sister by car from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen via Antwerp to the Netherlands. We would pass miles of factories at Antwerp and I was very worried about how we were soiling you.

I could also see the hunting of hares and pheasants from my house. They would walk with twenty men in a row. There was a whistle and then you saw the hares or pheasants darting away. Unfortunately, these animals did not have a fair chance with the drive hunt.

These images have always stayed with me and have influenced my thoughts about how I want to interact with you. I know you both give and take, but when I look around here, in recent years we have been taking much more than we are giving back to you.

Personally, I like to spend a long time in the shower. Every day I travel to Utrecht. I like to buy clothes, fly once or twice a year to visit my daughter. Yes, I compensate directly in my mind: I don’t have a car, I don’t eat meat and I buy organic. I separate my waste and I almost always buy my clothes 2nd hand. Still, I wonder: what can I do to be more careful with you?

I have resolved to reduce my plastic consumption. I go to the market and shop with cotton bags, buy bread from the bakery in a cloth bag. I’m experimenting with a vegan lifestyle. Maybe this will allow me to enjoy more all the beauty we get from you for free.
I hope we can inspire each other to a greater respect for life. Thank you earth, for being so patient with us!

Carol

Photos: Jan Alers (on the route of the Walk of Walk of Wisdom)