Reflections And The Philosophical Side Of My Time In Antarctica | Ross Sea and East Antarctic

Antarctic Reflections As Life Goes On

I’m writing this in the wee hours of the morning three weeks after stepping off the ship. The amnesia still hasn’t kicked in. The last days of this 4 month odyssey were a nightmare and the memories are still raw. I’m really looking forward to that subsiding so I can enjoy the three months of great memories that were made on that boat and the precious time down in Antarctica. 

I know that will come. Perhaps as I look though my thousands of pictures and recall those special memories of curious penguins, of languid seals, of majestic whales, of magical skies and of the ever present frozen sculptures floating in our midst. 

Antarctic Seeps Into Your Soul

I’m still without the right words for it and hopefully they will come in time, but Antarctica is enthralling. It’s raw. It’s pristine. It’s unlike any place you’ve ever experienced.

The wildlife is unafraid and curious. There’s a deep peace that settles inside you when you stare out across the Antarctic Ocean, across the frozen tundra.

To think that these animals thrive here is mind boggling. It’s harsh and beautiful. It takes no prisoners but lavishes you with magic and mystery. Of auroras and mirages. Of phenomenon that I’ll never experience anywhere else. The stark serenity.

It draws you in and settles in your soul. Every molecule that makes me up feels connected to this place and its inhabitants. Every part of it must be cherished and protected.

I’m not sure I will ever experience ever again such untouched wilderness. Unspoiled. No plastic floating in the water. No visual evidence of humanity other than the climactic impact that leaves no part of our world unaffected.

Antarctica Feels Humanity’s Indulgence

Humanity is, however, tugging hard on the Antarctic strings now. I sense that whaling will resume and they are now hauling out krill by the hundred of tons so that people can have omega-3 capsules. 

As John Muir poignantly states, “When one tugs on a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world”. Let that settle into your soul.

The significance of this quote is especially true in Antarctica. You can see the strings pulling in Antarctica, a place that few of us will experience and, as such, should be free from our ravenous ways.

As human beings and stewards of this planet, we need to keep something sacred. We can’t keep ravaging every last little bit of nature. Nothing will remain, we know that, and yet, that is exactly what we are doing. It breaks my heart!

Climate Care and Conscientious Consideration

I hate to end this post on such a depressing note. It sounds cliché and I suppose it is these days, but my God, every single one of us needs to be mindful. We need to open our eyes and really contemplate how we are personally pulling on nature’s strings. 

Are you buying the krill oil? Why?

Is meat at every meal necessary? Doubt it!

How much waste do you create? Where is it going?

What are the things that you can do differently so you lessen your impact and pull fewer of natures strings?

Every little thing that we do can add up and hopefully save these wild places. Leave what is managing to survive alone.

Let’s not touch every last reserve.

Let’s back off.

Use what we’ve already created or mined or produced. Ease up on wanting the newest, the latest and greatest. That ‘want’ serves billionaires at the expense of our planet and makes you a mindless slave to marketing. It’s time to wake up and consider that you to have a part to play in this climate crisis. 

Big Life, Small Impact

For my part, for my health and for the planet, I’m going to become mostly vegetarian and drastically limit my dairy consumption. I’m looking forward to cruising more as well. I find living in developing countries easier to be closer to my environmental values. Local produce. Prohibitively expensive oversees groceries. It’s great! The more local we all can live, the better!

I am in no way perfect or a model for how to live, but I don’t expect perfection of me or anyone. I just want to see each of us taking baby steps to a better future for all the living beings on this planet. As Maya Angelou says, “When you know better, you do better.” You know better!

Climbing off my soapbox, please let these pictures of Antarctica soak into your soul. It’s not untouched but it’s the closest thing we have.

If you feel compelled, join the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, an organization actively working to protect Antarctica, Earth’s last great wilderness.

Let’s save this wild place!