PERREAULT Magazine JULY | AUGUST 2016 | Page 73

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My own ‘Voyage of Discovery’ was quite unlike the perilous journey my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Sir James Clark Ross, took 175 years ago. The most dominant difference being, I knew where I was going and when I’d be back!

James was a true pioneer who sailed unchartered waters, discovering the Antarctic continent in what Amundsen described as ‘ponderous tubs’—a man who’s remembered as one of the most capable seamen the world has ever produced and a votary of science to whom Antarctic scientific exploration owes so much.

Courtesy Philippa Ross

I, on the other hand, am a mere pilgrim who owes much to Heritage Expeditions for their generosity in giving me a free passage to honor my ancestor—thankfully in a vessel that was a far cry from being ponderous or tub-like! There was nothing heroic about my journey. It was more of a personal quest, an internal calling to satiate my soul and connect to my roots, a journey I now consider to have been a rite of passage—the totality of my own experiences affirming the profound affect our external environment has on our internal environment, allowing me to embody my life purpose to help people connect and build a relationship with themselves and the world around them, to cultivate the conditions to regenerate the seed of potential within us all to grow and develop a sustainable ecosystem that supports all life.