The route is a poem richer

The wind is waiting for your hair

The sun beckons to your skin

The route wants your feet

So get out of bed

The air craves your breath

The river your whole body

The world sings I want with you

Do you want to join me

From: Dineke de Velde Harsenhorst

After Dineke passed away, we often thought about her and we had the plan to plant a tree for Dineke on the route of the Walk of Wisdom. We wanted a tree on the Bison Bay, on the first stage. That was a place where Dineke spent a lot of time. They had just planted new trees there and how nice that we got permission from Gelders Landschap to adopt an oak. We put one of her beautiful poems by the little oak tree. Let it become a beautiful oak!

Dineke was a loyal musician at our departure ceremonies and parties of the Walk of Walk of Wisdom.

We remember Dineke as an enthusiastic volunteer of the Walk of Wisdom. A route separate from a religion that is based on the connection between people and the world. That this connection appealed to Dineke was evident from the introduction.

Well, getting acquainted… Dineke presented herself, announced herself: I’m going to make music for you. She had written a song – the Pilgrim – that was destined for the Walk of Wisdom . When was she allowed to come and play it for us?

We were a bit taken by surprise, but invited her anyway. Dineke came in as only she can do: with a firm step she stepped through the hallway, sampled the living room and when she felt that she liked it, she took the guitar off her shoulder and asked us to sit down to listen to her song.

We honestly held our breath! But luckily we were able to let it go quickly. Her song was full of striking, honest, beautiful and also mystical sentences about vulnerability and strength, connection and sadness. Want.

Since then, Dineke has graced many departure ceremonies or parties of the Walk of Wisdom . She knew how to touch many a pilgrim with her warm, pure voice and depth of language. You always knew: if you ask Dineke, you’ll get quality. She could easily fill the large Stevens Church in Nijmegen, but the intimate space of a living room or chapel also fit her like a glove.

If there was a budget, she liked it, but even if there wasn’t – usually with us – she gave herself without restraint. She was more than just a musician or a poet, she was something of a missionary. A missionary of the whole and all, of the deep waters of the soul and the great stream of life.

A seeker, she was. She was looking for connection. With people: at the end of a departure ceremony, she could tell exactly who – as she put it herself – “had the shutters open” and who didn’t. She sought connection with the higher, with God, the source of her inspiration. It hurt her and could make her angry if that connection wasn’t there.

“Fear me“, Dineke once sang. At the same time, if she was allowed to direct and her feelings were clear, she dared to say “Yes” to everything. She wrote a poem about it that she often read aloud at departure ceremonies. It’s in our route guide. A poem as an invitation to say Yes to your soul, to the road you have to take, wherever it leads.

Her final words:

Hello dear people who were there for me

Please celebrate a party at my farewell

It was a painful but also a beautiful life

I’m proud to have come this far

But I can’t go any further.

Damiaan and Manja, pioneers Walk of Wisdom

Photos: Marja Hakkoer, Manja Bente

Recently the book ‘Over stroming’ was published, an anthology of 20 songs and 30 poems by Dineke.
The texts are interspersed with photos and stories of people who were close to Dineke.
The booklet can be ordered via this link