4.6 Kilometres (and a bit of a panic attack)

Last week, I joined a Deep Time Walk, guided by Prof. Griet Verbeeck.

What is a Deep Time Walk?

It’s a "head-heart-body" experience.

You walk exactly 4.6 kilometres, where every metre represents 1 million years of Earth's evolution.

By physically walking through time,

you realize how ancient our planet is and how late

—literally in the last few millimetres—

humans arrived.

It’s designed to break us out of our "short-term thinking."

Griet guided us beautifully.

She called herself an amateur—in the literal sense of amare (to love).

A professor sharing knowledge out of pure love for the subject.

We need more of that.

Touching the Deep Past

We were a group of seven,

reflecting sometimes in silence,

sometimes in pairs,

and sometimes all together.

A few questions and moments really stuck with me:

• "What does the moon mean to you?"

• "How does it feel to be connected to LUCA?" (Last Universal Common Ancestor—it made me smile because my dog is named Luca, but the realization of being biologically linked to all life is profound.)

• "What deserves more of your energy?"

• "Where can we use the power of collaboration instead of competition?"

The Orange Stone: A Personal Rebellion

Griet asked us to bring a 'natural object' that meant something to us.

I brought a stone I painted orange more or less a year ago.

On it, I wrote: 'los staan van de wereld en dat ook toestaan - maar is dat dan eenzaam' 

(to stand apart from the world and to allow that — but is that lonely?).

For years, I hid my drawings and "not-real art" in kitchen drawers because I thought a professor had to be serious.

Placing that stone outside my front door was a small act of rebellion.

It’s a reminder that being an "agent of change" often means not fitting in.

It can feel lonely, but doing small things that break your own "Tiny" habits builds the courage to stand out.

The After-Shock: From Pain to Active Hope

I’ll be honest: after the walk, I felt quite hopeless.

When you see the timeline, you realize how fast we are breaking things.

But I found comfort in a quote by Joanna Macy:

To move from that "paralyzed" feeling to action,

here are the resources Griet shared that are helping me navigate this:

• For the hard facts: Planetary Boundaries. A sobering look at our planet’s health. We’ve already crossed 7 out of 9 boundaries.
  

• For mental resilience: The Work That Reconnects. Founded by Joanna Macy, this method helps you face the climate crisis with creative power instead of despair. (In Belgium: Waerbeke vzw).
  

• Experience it yourself: Visit Deep Time Walk to find a walk or download the app.
  

• A solo journey: Listen to this podcast by Dr. Stephan Harding while walking 4.6 km. It’s a 1-hour immersive history of the Earth.
  

We are part of a 4.6 billion-year-old success story.

Let’s try to make sure we aren't the ones who cut the story short.