Friday 27 April 2012

The Story before the Antarctic(1): How did it begin?



How did it begin?

I always maintain a list of dreams and wishes. Some of them noted down in papers and some in my dreams book. The others have just always been there in my mind. However, the Antarctic wasn’t among them months ago. The Antarctic story began in November 2011 when I was one of the Mosaic International delegates in Qatar who got the opportunity to meet in person with Robert Swan.



Being touched by natural beauty and the importance of every person’s responsibility as the first person in history to walk to North and South Poles, Sir Robert Swan OBE has always had the commitment to do something great as a pay back to our beloved earth. In the Mosaic Summit he gave us one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard in my life. A true and real inspiring story that is not a part of a Hollywood movie.

Like all other delegates, I was inspired and taken by his adventures. Not only that, I was more taken by his message to the world and actions towards making it more sustainable, green, clean and for all of us.

After the speech, we were all crazy to take photos with him. How come we don’t feel so with the man contributed in making the history since his first footstep in the Antarctic! I stood anxiously in a far distance and asked him if I can join his expedition to the Antarctic. His answer was immediate: “And why are you standing far away from me? I won’t eat you. Of course you can.”



I was happy to get his business card. Yet, I wasn’t sure about what he said. I thought he felt sorry for me and didn’t want to embarrass me in front of everyone and thus he said yes. Nevertheless, I had no control over the magnificent flow of images and scenes of me walking in the Antarctic. The idea kept on driving me somewhere else since that moment. I decided to embrace this challenge and turn it into reality. I will go to the Antarctic.

Being with 80 delegates from 20 countries discussing global concerns and trying to resolve some issues with our leadership roles made me feel that I can do something good. Many people came from less fortunate places than I, with absolutely no resources and no support, yet they lead people from their nations to a great positive change. The summit was a great relief for me to get closer to myself. I have always wanted to do something good for the society and contribute positively. Things were blurry, there was no guidance and probably my eyes were not opened to such kind of opportunities. I knew then that I also could do many good things.

No comments:

Post a Comment