Book Review: Philosophy for Polar Explorers by Erling Kagge
Not long ago I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful photos and thoughts in Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge. This book is similar in that it is full of breathtaking photographs, mainly of Kagge’s journeys to the poles, and also brimming with insightful comments on courage, decision-making, goals, taking risks, loneliness, and other topics. Kagge was the first explorer ever to successfully meet the three-pole challenge: walking to the North Pole, walking to the South Pole, and climbing to the summit of Mount Everest. Someday I hope he writes a comprehensive memoir about his achievements. In the meantime, the lessons he shares from his unique experiences are edifying, well-written, and worthwhile.
He writes: “I am no scientist, but my experience has been that, to a large extent, feelings of insecurity, loneliness, and depression stem from the flattening of the world that occurs when we are alienated from nature.” In fact, he emphasizes that he feels lonelier in a crowd than he felt while he was walking alone across the ice to the South Pole. I can relate to this. I felt less lonely hitchhiking around the world alone than I feel sometimes in my apartment building – where I am ostensibly surrounded by other people but don’t know any of them on a personal level.
The book bursts with inspiration on making decisions and reaching goals. He says: “For me there’s a great joy in setting targets.” And then, to reach these targets involves a lot of practical gumption. For instance, when he was alone on the ice, despite the cold he always got up early, knowing that there was a lot to be accomplished each day. In this context, he writes that to him raising his three teenage girls seems to sometimes take more courage than mountain climbing. And: “It takes so much courage to battle a serious illness, to show kindness, to keep promises, to end relationships – not to mention daring to love and to express love – and to deal with betrayal, disappointments, and sorrow.”
In any accomplishments in life, Kagge stresses the importance of not undervaluing ourselves, avoiding small-mindedness, and distinguishing the impossible from the merely improbable. Real courage involves risk, and avoidance of risk leads us down the broad path to mediocrity. “Humans need challenges, moments that make us feel we need to earn the gift of life.”
Near the end of the book, Kagge writes of the “champion’s dilemma,” something that can afflict explorers after they reach the goals they have set for themselves – or anyone who reaches a goal or dream and has no idea where to go from there. The solution, of course, is to set new goals. For him, after he accomplished the three-pole challenge, he became a parent. This “gave birth to innumerable new dreams and visions.”
By the time I finished reading this book, I realized that I too need new goals and dreams. For a decade or so I’ve been a single parent, but not long ago I became an empty-nester. In the absence of the direct responsibility of parenting I have been foundering – just barely treading water and wondering what to do with myself. I have the writing, of course, which I accomplish daily, but I need something to replace the void of my family’s absence. This is an ongoing concern. Regardless of your own life’s status, though, I highly recommend Kagge’s book. You’re sure to find something in it to console, inspire, and challenge you.
