A year ago, my friend Cathleen and I joined the first “Darkness into Light” walk in Baarn, The Netherlands. It was a good cause and we were happy to be supportive. We both knew people who had fallen into “darkness” and were no longer here with us. A year ago, we hoped that we would never know anyone that would meet this end again - but that is not the case. Cathleen knows 4 souls who were gone at the end of 2022. Two of them were only 17 years old. We joined the walk again this year.
What is Darkness into Light?
Darkness into Light is an international walk to raise funds for Pieta. Pieta provides services for those affected by suicide and self-harm. People connect locally and globally to bring hope to those who've been impacted. We walk to show the world that it is necessary to talk about suicide and mental health. On May 6, 2023 - we went walking again.
Last year this walk started in Baarn - this year 2 more Dutch cities were added - Amsterdam and Hilversum. We ventured to Baarn where it all started. We departed in the wee hours - 4:15 am but we were not alone. The movement started in Dublin, Ireland and has spread around the world. This year there were 200 different locations, spanning 15 countries and 5 continents.
The Walk
We departed in the DARKNESS at 5:00am with 70 other people from De Herberg van Paulus - the church center behind the 14th century, St. Paulus church.
here we go
All was serene as the town was deep in slumber. We traversed the town's empty streets.
We entered the Baarnse Bos (Baarnse forest) filled with beech trees. The 18th century forest/park used to be part of the royal estate.
Soon we came to the De Grote Kom (The Great Bowl) - the large pond which is in the middle of the forest.
We went around it to go deeper into the woods.
We entered a tree-lined walking path called the Cradle.
Here are some of the walkers along the Cradle.
It was eerily beautiful as the morning mist hung above the ground. 
As we wandered between the trees, my camera malfunctioned but seemed to add an impressionistic touch to this photo.
We were simply awestruck by nature when we saw these trees shrouded in the mist.
It led to this tree-lined path of the French landscaped park designed in the 1730s. As a result, the forest is also a park.
Turning around, one could see our destination in the distance, Soestdijk Palace.
After walking 3.1 km - we had arrived.
the walkers minus the photographers
Soesdijk Palace was home to royals until 2004. It was sold in 2017 and will most likely be re-purposed as a hotel.
Another photo of the palace might seem superfluous but I am sure you will enjoy this photo of the palace in the mist.
As dawn broke, we started walking back to our starting point.
The twilight and mist casted a mysterious glow around the Waterloo Needle - which is in direct line of sight from the palace. It was built in 1815 by the Dutch government to honor William of Orange.
We walked under lofty trees - which seemed to have been painted instead of photographed. (my camera started to malfunction again)
The Cradle
and De Grote Kom (The Great Bowl) could now be seen in a different light.
This 19th Century lady, made from oak, was spotted.
At the edge of the forest is the old station house which was built in 1870 and used to be the royal waiting room. The building is now a restaurant, called “De Generaal” which boasts well preserved jugend style (art nouveau) features.
After crossing the adjacent train tracks,
many beautiful homes
seemed to glow
in the morning hue.
Thereafter, we arrived at the church center.
We enjoyed warm drinks whilst one of the organizers, Jeff Balch, the Mayor of Baarn, Mark Roell and representatives from the Dutch Suicide prevention hotline -113 - gave closing remarks. It was disheartening to learn that in 2022, the average number of suicides was 5 per day.
It was LIGHT when we departed from the center of Baarn, as the sun shone on St. Paulus church.
It felt like a morning well spent.
We walked from Darkness into Light to symbolize our own sense of hope for those suffering silently.
We walked from Darkness into Light to create awareness and dialogue.
The manifesto sums it up well:
All photos are taken with an iPhone SE 2020