When he saw the three men he stepped back and a look of disbelief came over his face. For a long moment he stood shocked and silent before he spoke.
“Who the hell are you?” he said at last.
The man in the center stepped forward.
“My name is Shackleton,” he replied in a quiet voice.
Again there was silence. Some said that Sørlle turned away and wept.
—
This is how the book Endurance ended after 346 pages of nonstop adventure, struggle, and grit.
Shackleton (a polar explorer and principal figure in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration) had at last, after 500+ days in the Antarctic, after his ship (the Endurance) had gotten crushed in the ice, after having survived on ice floes for months, after crossing 800 miles of open water through the Drake Passage in the boat above, and after crossing South Georgia Island on foot, he finally reached the whaling station at Stromness Bay, ensuring survival for his men.
The Endurance is an almost unreal story what humans are capable of. They lived on hoosh, seal, penguin, and pemmican for months. They burned seal blubber to cook. A cup of warm powdered milk served as a morning boost. They had one set of clothes. Never bathed. Frostbite. Never doubting they’d succeed and survive.
I highly recommend you read it. If you want the short version, this is pretty good (Wikipedia snippet)
What did I learn?
It could be worse. Much worse.
(we’re all on a floe someplace… in life)
Still, they survived.
I was out sick most of the week (again) for bronchitis, round two. Mucinex helped. My bed, plenty of fluids, and the ability for a warm shower when needed. I now feel much better, and will be back Monday.
I spent zero nights on an ice flow ready to crack under the immense pressure of the Weddell sea.
My dad often told me when I was little the equivalent of “suck it up” (but in Swedish), and I often felt he was a hard individual with unreal expectations for his son.
I now know that he was just more experienced. More traveled, better prepared, and had endured far worse than biking home in the rain from school (perspectives).
I am now his age, and Oskar is mine. Reading about Shackelton reminds me to go easy on Oskar – he hasn’t been on the ice yet. In the end, it’ll be alright. He’ll get it, too. No need to push too fast.
I need to go easy on myself, too. Take that sick day. Get rest. I’m lucky to be on an expedition that values its team members. (Thank you CJ for the directive!)
While neither of us (Oskar and I) plans to become polar explorers anytime soon, it’s through reading we can all grow. I read about frozen passages, and he reads about the adventures of the Survey Corps.
We both explore in our own way. By exploring, we increase our ability to persevere, to exist, to endure. On the ice, and in life.
Alright, fine, this turned out to be a bit of a ramble.
That’s ok.
I hope you add it to your toolbox regardless.
Endure. You owe to yourself.
You don’t even have to fetch drinking water from sea ice!