Exploration

“However, on you go, and every mile covered seems another victory” * – noted renowned Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen while reflecting upon the remarkable journey during which he led his sloop Gjøa and six crewmen from Oslo to Nome, AK.

Before 1906, navigation through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago had eluded many, given challenging weather conditions, shallow waters, and scant port availability. Undaunted by these frightening factors, Amundsen was the first who managed to sail through the Passage in roughly three years and opened a commercially viable and economically invaluable route from West to East.

When embarking on an exploration of the unfamiliar (both on a vessel, and in life), one should allow for the unplanned to occur. Additional time or effort may be indispensable; existing resources may become inadequate; or experience from the past may be irrelevant.

At the same time, to unceasingly seek what lies ahead, an explorer (of sea lanes, or life) should remain open to the wonder and beauty of the present moment – to the fact that “human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning.” **

* This quote is from page 363.

** Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (this quote is from page 83).