Ode to the Great North

The magical feeling of the almighty North

Every time I go out and look at its beauty, the North reminds me that I should take nothing for granted. It has so much to give me, only should I recognize that I’m stepping onto the land of the true Gods.

Those faces inspire fear and freedom at the same time, they wake all of your instincts. What else do you make of something so powerful, so strong, always testing you, always pushing you around?

My eternal inner attraction towards northern landscapes wasn’t enough to get a good grasp of it. What it took me was a late-summer of 2018 adventure on the hills of Iceland to realize what people had been through to brave such an unforgiving, yet gorgeous nature.

The piece of the puzzle I never knew I lacked

I found myself staring at the ruins of what had been a house, centuries ago as I couldn’t believe how hard it was just to climb there from the incredible black-sand beaches that extends across almost the whole southern part of Iceland. It was an amazing moment, my friends and I were in a rush to get back down there as the sun was setting out fast, but as I contemplated the ancient site, I couldn’t move anymore. It was piercing right through me.

I had to stop, turn around, face the Ocean and feel the light cold breeze of summer coming from the same direction. Never have I felt more alive than I did there — it’s as if I lived their lives and went back a few centuries for a brief moment. I was speechless. There was no noise for a while, no birds, no waves, no plane, no car, nobody.

It was a moment of the strongest empathy — only centuries had passed. This feeling still resides inside of me to the day.

As I turned back facing the mainland, I saw the higher ground of sudden landscape composed of volcanoes and steep mountains. The aggressive landscape actually felt nothing but appeasing for a moment. Perhaps it was only nature telling me that I had nothing to fear so long as I could appreciate what was in front of me — no comparison would justify.

No words can really describe how that breeze went through every piece of me. How something much, much bigger planted seeds of the purest joy in me. Never had I been so thankful in my life.

I embraced the perspective of standing on ancient Viking ground and understanding their sacred beliefs — so many of them referring directly to nature, as it would appear, more than any other culture. Understanding the harsh reality they faced every day made me realize that the only way was forward and that nothing else mattered.

The most impressive perhaps was the extreme focus that the inherent beauty, the unforgiving effects of time on the island forces you to have. You don’t really have the choice to be somewhere else or to think of anything else. It keeps you grounded deep, it touches you, grabs a hold of you and doesn’t let you go.

You are locked in the right moment, the only one that matters — right now.

A moment apart

I will never forget feeling the extreme bliss, one comparable to discovering a new piece of art, or music, and you just can’t get enough. I’ve since tried to recreate it, the closest I’ve been to it was wandering around a cold Swedish lake while chasing the northern lights.

I know that I will never come close to that again, so many ingredients came together to form the perfect moment. A 22-year-old me, thrilled and inspired, a couple of friends to whom I owe so many amazing memories, a perfect breeze of summer, nothing else to bother us. Just the right mix of luck to end up there at the right time — the intuition that we had to climb up there for some reason, something was calling us.

As I realize how lucky I was, I am completely fine with that. Living it once and only once ensures that you treasure those memories forever.

I will always feel the urge to go back to the Great North to seek all the answers, such is the effect it has on me.

I’d love you to take the time to watch Sergi Martinez Miro’s beautiful take of the land of fire and ice: