[at-l] Speaking of Shackleton...

[pmags@yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

This past weekend, was fortunante enough to see the
IMAX film about Shackleton. Though the film was much
skimpier on the details than the two most popular
books about Shackleton (naturally), it was quite
something to see the actual sights where Shackleton
and his crew survived. The Antartic looks both cruel
and beautiful.  I think I was suffering from a slight
case of hypothermia as the film was progressing...

There is one Shackleton quote that I read over and
over again:

"In memories we were rich. We had pierced the veneer
of outside things.... We had seen God in His
splendours, heard the text that Nature renders. We had
reached the naked soul of man."

In this harsh beauty, where they were reduced to
eating their sled dogs to survive, Shackleton and his
crew still saw how what they were experiencing was
something special.  Looking at Hurley's photographs
from this voyage, can see the resolve of the men. The
black and white pictures seem espicially effective at
bringing out the same reaction of awe that Shackleton
seemed to have.

In a smaller way, I think a long voyage in the
wilderness seems to bring about the same types of
feelings.  We will never have an epic journey such as
Shackleton. Most of us will never scale Everest or
Denali.  But, at least in some way, by experiencing
time in nature, we can at least glimpse "God in His
splendors" and at least catch the whispers of the
"text that Nature renders".   And after several months
on a journey, most of us have reached and discovered
our own soul, laid out bare. A long journey seems to
be a form of catharsis. Stripping down the
unessential, let us discovering what truly is
important. The end result is that we do indeed wind up
rich in memories. Long after the blisters have healed
and the muscles are no longer sore, we remember that
one special spot that will be forever etched in our
minds. For Shackleton and his men, it was the
Antarctic. What will it be for you?


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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau

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