Antarctic Ice, A Meditation

There was something spiritual about Antartica, particularly the ice.

I certainly expected the ice to be everything you would imagine in terms of ice in all its forms. And it was.  Solid, floating, frozen, fluid, swirling, drifting. Opaque, turquoise, sparkling, translucent, blue, crystalline, white.   Jagged, smooth, powder, slush. Vapor, condensation, fog.  Silent, creaking, breaking, groaning, grinding. Sea ice: frazil, pancake, first-year, grease, pack, fast. But this is just the edges. There’s so much more than ice.

 

First Some Data

Technically, Antartica is a polar desert. Seems counterintuitive but it’s true; it receives approximately two inches of precipitation each year.

Roughly 98% of its surface is covered in water, and the continent accounts for 90% of the world’s fresh water. It’s the coldest, highest, driest, and windiest place on earth.  

Only .04% of the continent is free of ice.

At its thickest, Antartica is covered by an ice sheet nearly three miles deep.

It nourishes and sustains our global community.

It teaches us with a reach to past, present, and future.

 

And Yet…….

Some things can’t be measured to be known. What will echo through my soul for the rest of my life is an inner vibration, a knowing if you will, of being surrounded by the ancient and the spiritual.

Millennia-old stories of the indomitable spirit of human hope in the face of an unforgiving landscape.

The power of the natural world.

The evidence of ongoing survival.

Relics from the past, the imprint of animals and man.

Imperfection.

Ethereal.

 

 

Defying Description

The sighting of our first baby iceberg was miraculous. We’d never seen one and we were instantly captivated. We couldn’t wait to see more.

 

 

The closer we got to the continent the more we were surrounded by ice and the more profound the experience of settling became.

Insignificance in the midst of majesty.

 

 

It may seem odd to imbue inanimate ice with human qualities but I find myself aching to describe its mystery and defiance.

It’s massive. Musical in its silence. Rich in texture. Humble and straightforward. Glacier to growler, each unapologetic.  Movement and scale are difficult to discern because it is all encompassing.

 

I settled with noticing, experiencing, acceptance and presence. Ultimately accepting that the unknowing is the answer.

Isn’t that peace?

I was changed by Antartica.

Perhaps it was timing, perhaps it is my own openness to being changed.

The “why” matters less to me than the fact that it did.

I’ll never forget all that it was and all that it continues to be.

The lessons.

The scripture of frozen water.

The ancient wisdom.

I hope if this is on your list you get to go.

I hope you get to experience your own moments of what the ice has to teach you.

I hope you savor every moment.

 

 

Final Thoughts

We traveled to Antartica with Atlas Ocean Voyages and would recommend it without reservation. I’ll be linking more about that in future posts.

If you have been to Antartica we would love to hear about it in the comment. Did it move you deeply? Touch your spirit? Make you want to learn more?   Tell us!