The world is our habitat

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Greed may be good for some, but generosity is always better.
Paul Polman, CEO Unilever

Paul Polman receives Peace of Nijmegen medal

Photo: Mathijs Hanekamp

In April, in our start and end point, the Stevenskerk, I witnessed a rare combination of pastor and merchant in one: Paul Polman, the boss of Unilever. During a special academic session, Polman was awarded the Peace of Nijmegen Medal for his services to the sustainable development of Europe.

Polman argued that the free market is only worthy of our defense if it is provided with a moral basis. He quoted Auschwitz survivor Victor Frankl: “What we forgot to do when we erected the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast, is to erect a Statue of Liberty Responsibility on the West Coast.” Polman argued for a responsible business community that is actively committed to solving the world’s problems based on understood long-term self-interest.

The Apocalypse

Nijmegen is the green capital of Europe in 2018 and as Walk of Walk of Wisdom we participate by calling on pilgrims to reflect on their relationship with the earth. It is clear that something has to change in our relationship with nature and the world, but can it also be done from love instead of doom and guilt?

A choice for a green lifestyle does not have to be motivated by the impending apocalypse, but can arise from concern for our living environment. We are undeniably part of the Earth’s ecosystem; If that ecosystem is doing well, the place where we live is doing well.

Living from that connection adds meaning to our daily lives and lifts us beyond the issues of the day to a larger context: that of the planet where we are – for a while – bearers of the miracle of life. I consider it a privilege to take good care of that life and I like to be inspired by everyone who carries this love!

Suggestions

  • Reflect on your place in the earth’s ecosystem during our five-day walking week from 5 to 9 August: A pilgrimage to the earth.
  • Write an intention for a green lifestyle on a vegetable garden label and plant it in a bowl of soil in the Valkhof Chapel in Nijmegen. The chapel is on our route, 700 meters from our starting point, the Stevens Church. More.
  • Are you registered as a pilgrim? Then come to our departure ceremony every third Saturday of the month. While supplies last, you can get an unfired clay tablet there to leave somewhere on the route with an intention. After a few rain showers, the tablet was reabsorbed by the earth. More.

We need to think through our disrelationship with the world better. We don’t control that world. We are not stewards. We are not caretakers. We are together with all other inspired and inanimate things that world. – René ten Bos, Thinker Laureate.

More about the Treaty of Nijmegen medal: link

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