I was surrounded by roughly 150 retirees. Most of my fellow travellers were in their 70s 鈥 more than one generation removed from me. I was one of the few millennials on this trip.
For my first expedition cruise, traversing the Northwest Passage with the tour operator , I had expected 鈥淎lone鈥-style, survival-in-the-wild adventure. Indiana Jones. Bear Grylls. I hadn鈥檛 anticipated early-bird dinners, workshops on how to use an iPhone, and anecdotes about life under the elder Trudeau.
But I soon got a reality check that put me in my place: These folks were smarter than I was, fitter than I was and more well-travelled than I was 鈥 they were better at life in every way. The trip became a master class on living life to its fullest, something I knew curiously little about.
The first lesson was the most obvious: You have one shot to take care of your body. On our first real day of adventure, I opted against the hike up a sheer volcanic cliff in North Isotor, Greenland 鈥 a place so remote, it鈥檚 not on Google Maps. I鈥檓 from Wisconsin, and I knew I couldn鈥檛 handle the elevation.
Icebergs as spotted from the cruise ship.
Jacqueline KehoeYou know who could? Dozens of my ship companions. Two weeks of watching travellers twice my age bound up and across the tundra was quite the wake-up call, as was observing the ones who navigated with helping hands and canes. My body now is my body later. My body will only grow weaker if I do not use it, intentionally and with care.
The second lesson was a cerebral one: You have one shot to take care of your legacy. This trip made equals of us all. One dinner, I鈥檇 be sitting with a millionaire; the next, an accountant who had spent a year saving up for the trip. You couldn鈥檛 tell them apart at first glance.
Jacqueline Kehoe, right, with fellow traveller Judy, who inspired the writer to take up knitting after her trip.
Jacqueline KehoeYou couldn鈥檛 predict who was the Oxford-trained horse paleontologist, or who was the ex-Cirque du Soleil artist, or who was the radio producer who had interviewed the Queen of England. No matter their background, my wise fellow travellers had constructed fascinating lives. They鈥檇 had decades of experiences and could look back on their legacy. What legacy was I building?
I wasn鈥檛 proud of my answer to that one. So this last lesson hit me equally hard: You have one shot to take care of your soul. I hadn鈥檛 been doing that 鈥 I was spending most of my time writing unfulfilling SEO content, withering away at my Wisconsin desk. But here I was, tossed into a micro-world where everyone else was investing in a life well-lived.
These people had decided to spend two weeks crossing the Northwest Passage, seeking out one of the world鈥檚 most famous adventures, packing their days with on-board activities like history classes and painting, watching wildlife and generally having the time of their lives.
The expedition ship took travellers through the Northwest Passage.
Jacqueline KehoeToward the end of the trip, with these lessons on my mind, I weaseled my way into the ship鈥檚 band. I used to love making music 鈥 I never made time for it anymore, but here, all of a sudden, it was back in my life again. Wildness, creativity and adventure were in my life again.
When I stepped off the boat, I was pretty shaken. I had seen a glimmer of what life could be. I knew what was waiting for me at home, what I had built, wasn鈥檛 that. Not yet.
Now, months after this cruise, I鈥檓 building it. I鈥檓 writing creatively. I鈥檓 learning guitar. I鈥檝e picked up knitting, kick-boxing,聽birding and baking. I鈥檓 thinking about purpose and trying to take better care of myself. The woman who walked off that ship wasn鈥檛 the same one who walked on 鈥 and for that, I have 150 septuagenarians to thank.
Jacqueline Kehoe travelled as a guest of Adventure Canada, which did not review or approve this article.
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