https://www.artofmanliness.com/2013...ion-can-teach-you-about-whats-truly-valuable/
Tom McLeod, member of the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, stood anxiously on the deck of the Endurance. He looked out on a nearby ice floe where ten Emperor penguins stood wailing a mournful cry. None of the ship’s twenty-eight member crew had seen such a large group of penguins gather together before, nor heard them issue such a strange and chilling sound. Surely, McLeod thought, this was a foreboding omen.
Ernest Shackleton, leader of the expedition, bit his lip. One did not have to be superstitious to feel the crew’s prospects were bleak. The Endurance had been stalled out for months, having become trapped in an ice pack as it sailed towards the South Pole. The crew’s aim was to launch an expedition that would traverse the Antarctic continent. But now the ice floes surrounding the ship had begun violently pinching and twisting it, tearing open holes in the hull through which freezing water poured. The men had worked for days in exhausting, round-the-clock shifts, pumping out the water by hand. But Shackleton knew their efforts were not enough to save the ship; the next day he ordered the Endurance abandoned. “She’s going boys,” he said. “I think it’s time to get off.”
The men trudged out onto an ice floe, leaving behind what had been, all things considered, a warm and comfortable home. It was a farewell to their last tie to civilization. They had now entered a lone and dreary wilderness. The men set up their tents on a tenuous foundation that was likely no more than 6 feet deep and could crack open at any time – plunging them into the icy deep...
...Shackleton’s men were faced with a series of heart-wrenching choices. Given the scant two-pound allowance, which of their cherished personal possessions should they keep, and which should they cast aside into what Shackleton called “the privacy of these white graves”?
Taking inventory of what the members of the Endurance expedition decided to keep and what they left behind can teach us much about what is truly valuable — not only literally, in terms of material possessions — but as broader symbols of what matters most in life for all of us.
What They Left Behind
Money/Jewelry/Gold. The thing that had the most value in the explorer’s lives back home would have the least value on their Antarctic march. Or as Frank Worsley, captain of the Endurance put it, “there are times when gold can be a liability rather than an asset.” Heavy and worthless, their “wealth” would simply serve to weigh them down.
As a symbol for our own lives: I love this one, because the men took the thing that holds all the stuff you tote along for a trip, and transformed it into something to sheath the only true essential you need for a journey: your own two feet. It captures the essence of traveling light. In all areas of our lives, from paring down how much stuff we own, to peeling back the influence of media and popular culture in order to find our own beliefs, to homing in on our life’s purpose, we are well-served in stripping away the dross in search of the essential core.
Continued below.
Tom McLeod, member of the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, stood anxiously on the deck of the Endurance. He looked out on a nearby ice floe where ten Emperor penguins stood wailing a mournful cry. None of the ship’s twenty-eight member crew had seen such a large group of penguins gather together before, nor heard them issue such a strange and chilling sound. Surely, McLeod thought, this was a foreboding omen.
Ernest Shackleton, leader of the expedition, bit his lip. One did not have to be superstitious to feel the crew’s prospects were bleak. The Endurance had been stalled out for months, having become trapped in an ice pack as it sailed towards the South Pole. The crew’s aim was to launch an expedition that would traverse the Antarctic continent. But now the ice floes surrounding the ship had begun violently pinching and twisting it, tearing open holes in the hull through which freezing water poured. The men had worked for days in exhausting, round-the-clock shifts, pumping out the water by hand. But Shackleton knew their efforts were not enough to save the ship; the next day he ordered the Endurance abandoned. “She’s going boys,” he said. “I think it’s time to get off.”
The men trudged out onto an ice floe, leaving behind what had been, all things considered, a warm and comfortable home. It was a farewell to their last tie to civilization. They had now entered a lone and dreary wilderness. The men set up their tents on a tenuous foundation that was likely no more than 6 feet deep and could crack open at any time – plunging them into the icy deep...
...Shackleton’s men were faced with a series of heart-wrenching choices. Given the scant two-pound allowance, which of their cherished personal possessions should they keep, and which should they cast aside into what Shackleton called “the privacy of these white graves”?
Taking inventory of what the members of the Endurance expedition decided to keep and what they left behind can teach us much about what is truly valuable — not only literally, in terms of material possessions — but as broader symbols of what matters most in life for all of us.
What They Left Behind
Money/Jewelry/Gold. The thing that had the most value in the explorer’s lives back home would have the least value on their Antarctic march. Or as Frank Worsley, captain of the Endurance put it, “there are times when gold can be a liability rather than an asset.” Heavy and worthless, their “wealth” would simply serve to weigh them down.
- As a symbol for our own lives: Few things can impede your search for a happy and fulfilling life more than a love of money and a heedless pursuit of material possessions. Debt shackles. Accumulating piles of shiny tchotchkes doesn’t bring lasting satisfaction and forces you to invest your time in taking care of your stuff, rather than in things with true value like relationships, experiences, and service to others.
- As a symbol for our own lives: This one can translate more literally and relates to the point above. Instead of having a huge wardrobe, just have a few pieces that really get the job done and will work in a wide variety of situations. Instead of having a house full of junk, try to own only those things you really need, use, and get true enjoyment from.
- As a symbol for our own lives: Sometimes the plan we set out for ourselves – either professionally or personally — changes dramatically. These curveballs can come because of an intentional shift in our goals, or from challenges and circumstances over which we have no control. Either way, there’s no use in holding onto the past. You have to leave behind the trappings and the baggage of your old dream, and ditch the regrets for what could have been and the guilt for the path you “should” have taken. When plans change, one must find a new purpose, and press onward.
- As a symbol for our own lives: Studying and educating ourselves about who we want to be and how best to do something is absolutely vital. But there also comes a time when you have to move beyond the realm of the abstract and hypothetical, get moving, and try to do the thing yourself.
As a symbol for our own lives: I love this one, because the men took the thing that holds all the stuff you tote along for a trip, and transformed it into something to sheath the only true essential you need for a journey: your own two feet. It captures the essence of traveling light. In all areas of our lives, from paring down how much stuff we own, to peeling back the influence of media and popular culture in order to find our own beliefs, to homing in on our life’s purpose, we are well-served in stripping away the dross in search of the essential core.
Continued below.