Author Archives: Steven

✓ Goal #8) Travel to Iceland

22 May 2010

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When most people think of exotic locations, they think of islands hidden deep in the South Pacific, not somewhere where the sun doesn’t exist during the winter and never disappears in the summer. Iceland is a rugged and unforgivable island, created in a place where the earth is literally tearing itself apart. The wind never stops howling across the landscape and ten percent of the country is forever covered in a blanket of ice. “Exotic” doesn’t typically include eating foods like rotten shark fin or boiled sheep head.

Nothing seems more enticing than all of the things mentioned above, except maybe the food. That’s why traveling to Iceland had been at the top my list of destinations for quite a while. It may not be the typical vacation destination but that’s exactly why I wanted to travel there. What the island has to offer is a unique opportunity to experience a culture a little different from my own, to witness some of the most spectacular natural views the world has to offer and immerse myself in the natural conflict of what has become known as “The Land of Fire and Ice.”

As the plane descended into Keflavík Airport, I watched Eyjafjallajökull on the horizon spewing ash into the sky. The land below was barren and scabrous, covered in black volcanic rocks from ancient eruptions. For a moment it felt as though the plane was about to touch down on another planet.

For the next week of my life, this was home.

The bus ride into Reykjavík confirmed what I’d seen from the sky. Everywhere I looked the landscape seemed devoid of life. Like the flower that pushes its way through a crack in the sidewalk, tiny villages of brightly colored homes sprouted out of the black earth surrounding them. As the bus approached Reykjavík, the small communities began to condense until it was impossible to distinguish one town from the next.

After a bus transfer at the main station, I arrived at my hostel in downtown Reykjavík. On the counter was a pile of propaganda promoting tours to visit Eyjafjallajökull. I could accomplish my goal of witnessing a volcanic eruption so I scheduled a tour for that night and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering about the streets of Reykjavík, waiting until it was time to see the volcano.

The rest of the week I went on tours and different excursions around the southwestern peninsula of Iceland. I went whale watching in Faxaflói Bay where I saw Minke Whales surface and dive down into the cold North Atlantic waters. Bottlenose dolphins played in the distance. I took the Golden Circle Tour and saw Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir and Strokkur. I visited the famed Blue Lagoon, relaxing in the chalky blue water and ate reindeer at the Lava Restaurant.

My trip to Iceland was fantastic and I wouldn’t change a single moment. By the time the week was over I was ready to go home but sad to be leaving. It’s obvious I need far more time in Iceland than just a week.  I’d like to take at least two weeks so I can road trip around the Ring Road and see the rest of the country.

It’s an amazing place and I can’t wait to go back. (Update: And I did go back, briefly, on my way back from London last Fall. I plan to visit again.)

✓ Goal #83) Witness a Volcanic Eruption

20 May 2010

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My first glimpse of Eyjafjallajökull came just as my airplane began its descent into Keflavík airport in Iceland.

In the distance I could see the dark plume of ash rising into the blue sky. Even from afar, it was an awesome spectacle to behold. The hundred or so miles between us did little to diminish the majesty of witnessing a volcanic eruption for the very first time.

I decided that before anything else during my stay in Iceland, I’d pay a visit to Eyjafjallajökull.

The tour guide picked me up from my hostel around 8:30 that night and we began our two hour drive from Reykjavík to the volcano. Though I hadn’t slept in nearly 30 hours, the excitement of seeing the eruption up close kept me wide awake.

When we finally reached the foot of the volcano, we were unable to see much of anything because clouds had begun to form around the summit. I was literally standing on the volcano and I couldn’t see anything. I could hear some soft rumbling coming from above but other than the thick layer of fresh volcanic ash I was standing in, there were no signs of a volcano was erupting only a short distance away.

The guide decided to try another spot.

We drove along a bumpy dirt road around the other side of the mountain and as we approached, the sky began to change from white clouds to a thick, dark mass in the sky. It was Eyjafjallajökull. We parked the truck and began to hike to the summit of a nearby hill where we could watch the eruption. When we reached the top, the ash plume had swallowed the valley below and swirls of light and dark mixed at the peak of the volcano.

It was nearly midnight and the sun had finally dipped below the horizon. The slowly dimming sky was darkened even more by the eruption and as we watched the ash being pumped into the atmosphere, a streak of orange lightning flashed through the dark plume … then again.

The guide had one more surprise for me; a trip directly into the cloud of ash that was choking the valley below.

The ash fell like rain from the sky and the deeper into the cloud we drove, the darker it became. Eventually we reached the point where it was no longer possible to see the road in front of us and the world around us became pitch black. We were in the middle of Eyjafjallajökull’s rage. This was the same ash cloud that was driving local farmers from their land and the same ash that had stopped all European air travel.

A destructive force of our planet yet, in this moment, strangely peaceful and quiet.

Click Here to see photos from my visit to Eyjafjallajökull.

Our Struggle for Mediocrity

28 April 2010

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Mediocrity pervades every facet of our existence.

We see mediocrity at work. It’s the person, maybe you, who does just enough to stay out of trouble with the boss but never enough to be recognized for their efforts. Instead of using time productively, they stare mindlessly at a computer screen wasting time, checking their email again, rereading the same messages for the third time.

As long as the required tasks for the day are completed, there’s no reason to work harder than what’s required. It isn’t like you’re going to earn more money by working any harder. All that matters is that the boss is out of your hair. Then everything will be fine.

Our schools and colleges are filled with mediocrity. Students are being filled with information that serves no purpose aside from being the answer to a multiple choice question on the next exam. In the words of the Greek author Plutarch:

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

Poetic words but not true of many students today. Instead of thinking, they memorize and recite facts, formulas and definitions. Students are not being taught how to think, they are being told what to think. This method of “teaching” is mass producing mediocre minds.

This isn’t only the fault of the institutions.Students have no reason to excel. They want to do the minimum amount of work in order to be successful. Maybe it makes sense. Why put forth extra effort to earn an A or B when a C or D will still get you a degree?

Mediocrity lives in our homes and our relationships. Our relationship with our spouse that was once full of passion and excitement now resembles a business arrangement. Instead of lovers, you’ve become partners. The youthful idealism of love has disappeared and been replaced with a big, adult sized pile of shit. What the hell happened? This isn’t what love is supposed to be like but we have accepted it as reality and we follow the status quo belief that passion and lust are not sustainable in a relationship.

We aren’t unhappy but we could be happier.

We go through life putting forth the least amount of effort necessary. If you can spend half of the day at work doing practically nothing without anyone noticing, you’re going to. If you can earn a degree in college with poor grades, you might as well. If you’re kind of happy with your relationship, at least you’re not miserable, right?

There’s no reason to push ourselves to do better when the results will be the same no matter what we do. Good enough is good enough. 

Except, it isn’t good enough. If you float through life being mediocre, you aren’t living up to your full potential. You’re missing out on opportunities and the chance to have the life you’ve always desired.

If you wonder why you’re never recognized at work or are always passed up for promotions, try looking inward at your own performance. Is your work mediocre? Are you wasting time? Could you be more productive?

Learning really is fun, if you’re expanding your horizons and perception of the world. Life isn’t a list of facts and statistics and there’s much more to learning than memorization of names and dates. Learning is about understanding who you are in relation to the life you are living. It’s about finding meaning and purpose. Thinking and contemplation are the most crucial aspects of education and, sadly, are missing from our schools. I’ll let you in on a secret, there are no definite answers in life.

If your relationship has become the icon of mediocrity, you have to be the person to change it. Expect resistance from your spouse. They won’t have any idea what hit them and confusion will abound. Persist, rebuild the passion and lust that brought you together. Be dangerous, be spontaneous…wake up the neighbors! The ones across the street! Its okay, they need something to talk about anyways.

Break free from the cycle of average. Kick yourself in the ass and push yourself beyond the limits of your potential. Whatever you do, don’t be mediocre because mediocrity sucks!

Leave normal to the rest of the world, you deserve so much better.