Szavanna_blog

The charm of the Arctic is the appeal of the primeval world to the primeval man, stirring the last drops of the blood of the caveman in our veins. It is the physical lust of struggling with, and overcoming, the sternest natural obstacles on the face of the globe. It is association with Nature in her sternest and most savage mood, and no live man – no man with red blood in his veins – ever goes North, but that returning, he goes again and again. Admiral Robert E. Peary, 1909

(Photo from Ben’s Flickr collection)

I chose to introduce you to Ben – who is an exceptional person.

He is one of those people who is not afraid of leaving “civilization” behind – push his boundaries to the limit in order to figure things out for himself. So for the sake of Blog Action day – I’d like you to put yourself in Ben’s shoes and take a trip to the Arctic – in order to rethink and reevaluate how one fits into today’s topic – our environment, nature, our planet or the universe if you like. I think if one is to get things in balance again – it’s important to learn to look at things in a different light – in a light which makes it clear how absurd our modern suburban environment is.

We tend to think of nature, or the planet as something we have nothing to do with – actually we often think similarly of our neighbors as well – in reality – we are all part of it – and like it or not we all influence each other in a million different ways – the sooner we understand how much we all depend on each other, on the air, the trees, and everything else on the planet the better our chances of improving on the current hectic situation.

So this post is just about this – just to stop and rethink a few things by taking a trip with Ben.

Nic’s Monday9am films always are to the point and always leave me with a few things to think about, this is how Nic introduces Ben :

Ben once stood alone in the Arctic as the only human being in an area one & a half times the size of the North American continent. He is soon to set off on an unsupported 1,800 mile trek across the Antarctic. What is it that would drive someone to do this?

Too often our lives are about the need to create an identity that we are proud of, one that will make us at the very least ‘OK’ in the eyes of others. Sometimes this is almost inperceptable but still, it is there. Perhaps it is our need to belong, to feel a part of everything that is the most powerful driving force in our lives.

But what if we realised that, paradoxically, we were already part of everything? Might we follow a different course? Might we do things just ‘because’ and not in ‘competition’ for the approval of those around us? Might we get to experience who we really are?

Exploring the place that time forgot – a Monday9am film

Continue the journey on Ben’s site.