About Whatever the Weather
A meaningful encounter, to me, is a meeting of souls. An opportunity for whoever shares in the encounter to feel free and offer their genuine selves to the other.
An opportunity also, to gently move beyond hurdles that stand in the way of mutual openness, like feelings of guilt and shame, hurry, busy-ness, hassle, incoming messages, hierarchy and even stories), and enter into a loving space you create by dedicating unvidided attention to whatever emerges in the space and time you share. To see the Other in the completeness of his/her/their being(s), and at the same time as a mirror image of yourself, and a portal to infinity.
145 meaningful encounters
Each of the 145 encounters started at a previously agreed day, at 9 AM at the waterpump situated along the Duivelandsestraat in The Hague. Following a short check-in, we used this place as a starting point for a walk on The Hague's South Beach, without any program other than to arrive at the South Pier at 4 PM.
This is where the person I met on each of the 145 days took their self-portrait against the background of the horizon. Once the photo was taken, we walked back to where we started. We arrived there at 5 PM and then hugged goodbye. By then, we had usually covered a distance of 15 to 20 kilometres.
The first encounter took place on 2 January 2018, followed by a rhythm of 3 encounters a week. Eventually leading the 144th encounter on 30 December 2018. Following this encounter, the project turned out to feel incomplete without adding a 145th encounter. The latter eventually took place on 5 December 2020 and is now also an integral part of the project.
Participate in Whatever the Weather
The final encounter of the project took place on 5 December 2020. You can no longer participate. Do know that you are welcome to join one of my weekly Monday walks. Or to come and visit the book at an exhibition, or join me on my upcoming Tour across the Netherlands.
Read about how Whatever the Weather came about