Into the Cold: A Journey of the Soul Page #8

appeared south of us.

l stared out of the port hole of the

helicopter as we lifted off to...

...Barneo, feeling real fondness

and nostalgia for this tough...

...and unforgiving environment.

We were leaving the pack ice,

its ridges, rubble fields and...

...open leads; its frigid humidity

and freezing winds;..

...its cloud cover and zero

visibility; and its canvas that...

...challenges the human spirit

and pushes the limits...

...of its physical potential. And

the thought troubled me...

...as it slowly sank in that

l would likely not be back here.

At least not like that.

lntense and epic, the North Pole

is one tough, tough mission.

The legendary Reinhold Messner said:

"Everest is very dangerous,

but crossing the North Pole,..

...which l attempted to do, is

ten times more dangerous. "

l knew flying away that what

l brought back with me...

...was an experience that has

marked me, and perhaps...

...changed me for life.

After five weeks of this

epic adventure, l know that...

...re-entry will be a challenge.

But all things do come to an end.

And l could really

use a sandwich!

l reflect on human"s

amazing ability to survive...

...in one of the harshest

environments on Earth.

As the world celebrates Earth day,

l think of how important it is to...

...get out of this false sense of

security that we have developed...

...as city dwellers, lulled away by

the convenience of technology...

...from the responsibility and

connection we have to the land...

...that hosts us. Where does our

garbage go? We don"t know.

What is the true impact of our

electrical power source...

...and what is our consumption?

lndigenous cultures have an

innate sense of renewable...

...and sustainable living

because it is logical.

Western cultures have

mostly lost that.

And l hope that this experience in

the Arctic raises awareness...

...of how fragile this is. And while

the Arctic is melting away,..

...our societies, our governments,

and our economies are all vying...

...to exploit its resources

made more available and...

...accessible because of the

melting. And in such we are...

...perpetuating a cycle which was

the genesis for the undoing...

...of this environment to begin

with. lt's a profound link:

lt's one of the multiple links that

tie us to this natural order.

Any weakening of any link in that

chain puts everything in jeopardy.

Everything, except of course for

nature and for the world which...

...carries on in the way

that it will.

Ultimately this is not

about protecting the planet.

Ultimately this is really about

protecting ourselves from ourselves.

With each step into the white

vastness of the Arctic sea,..

...l am reminded of how small

and vulnerable we really are,..

...and confronted with the mirror

of my own footprint.

While the snow drifts cover

my tracks, l know that l, too,..

...would soon drown in the tears

of the earth as its ice melts...

...and floods our cities,

forcing on us the reckoning...

...of an order that we lost.

l am left to ponder in amazement...

...at the power of the nature that

surrounds us, and to appreciate...

...the freedom we"re afforded to

journey unrestricted through it.

What an adventure!

TV-Rip:
Burak AHN

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