Physical presence at certain geographical locations often helps us to see real things and be surprised, stay humble and receptive. In 2007, 12 years ago, I had a chance to join the Antarctic expedition with Robert Swan, OBE. It was a business trip and leadership training for international teams from different corporations, media, and NGOs. I guess that many people would like to have a training like that. But some people were still skeptical. Why should you go so far to get insight? What’s there, in Antarctica, that you don’t have at your beautiful office?
Buddha’s way of travel
There is a story of Buddha Shakyamuni, which was creatively told by a modern Indian mystic, Osho. Traditional sources say that Buddha left his palace to meet major human problems such as aging and death. Osho described this situation differently, as a live dialog between Buddha and his wife. After Buddha’s enlightenment, his wife asked him, why did he leave her: what he got in a forest, which was absent in a palace. He replied that he was left not a palace but his own identity of a prince, of a son, and of a husband to find out who he really was. Buddha wanted to find an answer himself. He wasn’t interested in answers of other people.
Importance of the first-hand experience
I think this trick to find alternative realities out of beaten paths works these days as well. When you come to such severe places like Antarctica, you’re not just a manager or researcher or whoever else anymore. First, you see nature in its glory. But you also see literally tons of garbage on the frozen ground on the edge of the Earth. Then you understand something that you ignored before. What you see becomes the first-hand experience, and only then you can act accordingly.
This Antarctic trip is just an example. But you can also come to abandoned rural areas or, conversely, to the best cities in its greatness. You get to know different cultures and find out local conditions. Travel with open eyes, immersive travel helps you better understand people who live there. This is hardly possible if you stay at home and read someone’s “expert” opinion.
Travel in a good company
It’s also important that I have a chance to travel in a good company and share what I’ve seen with others. I believe that as collective beings we need some reflection: we need to talk about things that overwhelm us and think together what we can do about it. Polar issues are the well-known litmus tests for ecological troubles in general, but when I tried to share some insights from my trip I met too many skeptics. Now climate change is becoming the immediate experience of millions of people – and still, there are some people who say it’s not important or we cannot do anything about it. So our team, our network of support, people who can see these things with us directly can keep us sane.
My Antarctic experience was pivotal for me in many ways. First, I understood the value of funds like WWF and started to support them. Then, I joined a local platform as an intellectual volunteer helping NGOs with my business expertise. Now I’m thinking of how my own projects and I as a person can contribute and help others more. Can I be better? Can I act better? I still haven’t done something significant indeed, but I believe that even little things count and it’s important to think further about it. Some places and trips definitely help and turn us in the right direction.
