Walking in the line of a bird

Anja Strik is one of the first 10 pilgrims to complete the 136 kilometers of the Walk of Walk of Wisdom . Below is her report.

Last Sunday, eight days after the opening ceremony, I walked the last km’s of the Walk of Wisdom. It was from Grave to Ravenstein and as it turned out during the trip that day when I showed interested people the map, the end of the bird’s tail (as the crow flies, the shape of the route). I think that’s special, the tail at the end. It promptly reminded me of the Zen koan The cow walks through a barred window (pg. 223) and also how surprising my last km’s were from my pilgrimage through Nijmegen a few years ago.

Saturday I had the St. Stevenskerk can be reached on foot from Deest. Sunday I took the train from Ravenstein to the center of Nijmegen to stay in the St. Stevens still wanted to be able to sign the logbook. Together with a volunteer, I went looking for it. She liked to be informed about this pilgrimage route and the ritual of the shoelace and bird rings. 

What I didn’t expect beforehand is that I collected them all and I put in the effort too! The emotion was guided by the intention to support the ideas of this pilgrimage route. And that, while I don’t consider myself to be a do-gooder. So I see; “I don’t walk for myself; it’s walking.’ When I left on June 21, someone called out to me from a bench near St. Peter’s. Nicholas Chapel at the Valkhof: “You don’t just walk for yourself, but also for others, don’t you?” I answered, “I have only two legs; I run for myself. I can’t go to the bathroom for someone else.” He smiled.

Walk of Wisdom

I’m walking
nor for myself
nor for the other;
It walks

And in the encounter
beyond the wise and stupid,
it discovers a world
that arouses wonder