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Something beginning
The Valley
We spend years trying to reach mountaintops. Perhaps the valley is not something we are meant to escape. Perhaps there are things we can only hear down here.
This is not a programme, a course or a retreat. It is a question I am walking, and an invitation to walk part of it with me.
Most of what I write comes from moving slowly through places like the Baakens — grief, rest, attention, becoming, God after certainty. The books are one way of exploring that. This is another.
You do not need to stand on the mountain and see the whole route. You only need to walk far enough into the valley to see the next bend.
A Walk in the Valley
Baakens Valley, Gqeberha · Saturday morning, 7am · about two hours · eight places · free
I have been wondering what happens when we put our phones away, walk slowly, and make room for some of the questions we normally do not have time to hear.
So: eight people, one morning, an easy marked route. Walking, some conversation, some silence, and a few questions worth carrying. No teaching. Nobody being fixed. Coffee afterwards for anyone who wants to stay.
I am experimenting, and I would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.
What it is not
- Not therapy, and not a substitute for it.
- Not a men's group, though men are welcome. Everyone is.
- Not a church service, a workshop or a sales funnel for something else.
- Not strenuous. We walk slowly and stop often.
Walking safely
We start from an established trailhead on a marked route, in a group, in daylight, and I share the route and timing with everyone beforehand. Local advice for the Baakens is consistent and sensible: go in a group, stick to the marked trails, start from the busy access points. That is exactly what we do.
I will ask for an emergency contact number when you register, and I carry a basic first aid kit and a charged phone.
Eight places
Come and walk
Tell me you are interested and I will send you the date, the meeting point and what to bring. If the first walk fills, you will be first to hear about the next one. Nothing else lands in your inbox.
No cost, no obligation, and you can say no closer to the time without any awkwardness at all.
Where this might go
Honestly, I do not know yet, and I would rather find out by walking than by planning. If these mornings are good, there may be longer gatherings — fire, food, poetry, conversation, silence — and in time perhaps something longer still.
But that is a long way off, and the deeper work of accompanying people through grief, disorientation and change asks for training and care I am still growing into. So I am starting where I can stand honestly: eight people, one valley, two hours.
The books come from the same territory — SOUL, Between Arrivals and Departures, Poems & Prayers and The Five Questions. Or read the essays.
Before you come
What is a Valley walk?
A slow two-hour walk in the Baakens Valley in Gqeberha with a small group, phones away. There is some walking in silence, some conversation, and a few good questions. No teaching, no workshop, nothing to sign up for afterwards.
Do I need to be fit?
No. We walk slowly on an easy marked route and stop often. If you can manage two hours on uneven ground at a gentle pace, you will be fine. Tell me beforehand if you would rather we kept it flatter and shorter and I will plan the route around that.
Is this a Christian thing?
I am a Christian and I write from that place, so it will be honest about where I stand. But this is not a church service or a Bible study, nobody is asked to pray aloud or believe anything, and people who would not call themselves religious are genuinely welcome.
What if I don't want to talk?
Then don't. Some of the walk is silent by design, and passing on a question is always a normal thing to do rather than an awkward one. Coming to listen is a complete way to be there.
What does it cost?
The first walks are free. I am learning how to do this well, and it seems wrong to charge people while I am still finding out. Later walks may carry a small cost to cover coffee and materials.
What should I bring?
Shoes with grip, water, a warm layer for early morning, and a phone kept in your pocket. That is all.