discovering the white space between in antarctica
It was a dream for me to travel to Antarctica ever since I was a little girl. Fascinated by explorers like Shackleton I had learned about in school, I felt a kindred sense of adventure for making the most of my time in this lifetime by seeing and experiencing as many corners of the earth as I can. Upon making a continental landing by kayak on my 7th and final continent, Antarctica, I was taken aback by the magnitude of natural beauty before me. So much white snow, so much white space, so pure, so free. As I paddled between icebergs that first afternoon, I couldn’t help but just close my eyes and breathe in some of the freshest air I have ever breathed. The landscape is so pristine and untouched, so magnificent it was hard to find the words to describe. As one of my kayak guides attempted to articulate his impressions by quoting a word from his favorite movie, “majestical”.
In the ten precious days I spent exploring this final frontier, it wasn’t the grandness and awe-inspiring sights and sensations that caught my attention so much as it was what I was deprived of. In a very rare opportunity this day and age, I was off “the grid”. Complete without wifi, phone, television, or computer. In fact, we were so removed we didn’t even see other people or ships until our last 48 hours traveling. On our last landing in Antarctica, we had the rare sight of seeing an airplane fly by for the first time in about a week – and it felt like a completely surreal and foreign sight. Virtually, I was without human industrialization for an entire week immersed in nature and subject to the will of its elements. This shifted something very fundamental about my understanding of my sense of reality and my sense of life existence as I knew it.
What I came to understand, is that the well-being of our planet, and the well-being of our minds may be inextricably interconnected. It is common knowledge to understand the toll pollution has created on our environment. But what about on us? I’m not only talking about the negative health effects inhaling pollution has on our health. I’m also talking about the impacts consumerism and industrialization has had on our minds. This is what I will call a “social pollution” we experience most waking minutes of our days that is taking an unmeasured toll on us. Being “plugged in” to our phones, tvs, technology, advertisements on tv screens and billboards located within shops, businesses, subway stations, airports are constantly polluting our ability to think with any clarity or awareness with so much useless information being dumped on us. This is inhibiting our ability as human beings to flourish. We don’t have enough bandwidth left to mindfully think, to create, to be inspired, to be observant and present with and for our surroundings.
Therefore, we become mindless, not mindful and often act and live in a way that is out of alignment with our own well-being and the well-being of the rest of the planet we call home. We operate in this industrialized systematized society that we created thinking that we are completely immune to the consequences. But we are not.
Increasingly burnout is more prevalent than ever, depression rates are skyrocketing, as we simultaneously happen to be becoming increasingly more reliant on screens and innovative technology. The root of the problem is our flawed sense of “connectivity”. How do we thrive in society while untethering ourselves from such “social pollution”? In a sense, we need to disconnect to reconnect to have the mental space and time to meaningfully connect with ourselves, each other, and to nature.
In Antarctica, I found that having literal “white space” helped me become more present than any amount of meditating on my iphone app offered me. This space inspired more creativity in me to play music, dance, and create art. It helped me be more social and form deeper connections much more quickly with those around me. Most importantly it helped me know an inner sense of peace that I haven’t felt since being a care-free child.
When returning from Antarctica, there were two things that I truly had to adjust to. The first was seeing trees again. There were no trees in Antarctica. The second, was the amount of beauty and natural space we’ve lost from pouring concrete over our land to industrialize and the amount of mental freedom and space I’ve lost when opening my phone to and overflow of junk emails, useless newsletters, advertisements and even promotional group texts from business owners.
I am quite honestly still trying to make sense of what living in this version of reality means. Yet, I have to share my message because I believe there is a major benefit in becoming aware of the possibility that we can reclaim our access to a clean and healthy mind. Have you also felt a steady and dull decline of clarity, ease, and the ability to have the freedom to choose what you are exposed to? I feel like I’m not alone in this. Imagine what would be possible if we all were able to thrive in our well-being. I guarantee with more mindfulness and time and space to observe our surroundings, most of us would discover a renewed sense of creativity and inspiration to construct more solutions than the problems we face today.
