Is No Luck a Form of Luck?

by Lionel Davoust

Weather and nature are not to be commanded, and especially not in Iceland…
I have had the pleasure of arriving in Grundarfjörður at the beginning of the week, back with the Orca Guardians team. I have worked along researchers before, but orcas have always been especially fascinating to me, and having the opportunity to observe them in the wild, to learn about them and make a small contribution to their conservation, is an amazing perspective! All through the long journey to Grundarfjörður on several buses, the weather was wonderful, and I admit my breath caught at seeing the fjords here under the glory of the afternoon sun, thinking: “Wow. This is where I’m going to work…!” So, of course, I have been looking forward to my first trip to sea here, after having been a tourist several times in the area…

… but strong winds have us confined to land for two days. And by strong, I mean really strong: walking counter to the wind is like walking uphill. (A temperamental hill that occasionally wants to throw you off its back.) And yet I can hear the locals laughing already: it seems it’s still very tame compared to the real storms that can happen around here!
But… this is the way of the wild. And I feel that this apparent lack of luck is, on the contrary, an invitation to meditate on the resistance to our wishes. That wildlife and nature require patience and mindfulness, in a way that the developed world, all with its instant notifications and e-mails and things to do and pulls on the attention All! Requiring! Action! Now! may have forgotten. The beauty of nature and of approaching it lies as much in the journey, in the effort, in the waiting, as in seeing what you came to see. The richness of the experience lies also in the fact that mankind must abide by its rules, and that means, sometimes, accepting that your plans do not necessarily work out – a valuable lesson in a world of instant gratification.

OK, so, obviously, this is inconvenient for someone on vacation, with a tight schedule… Last time I was here, as a tourist, I could only go out to sea once on a stay of four days. But when you don’t have a choice, why not reflect on that fact and make the most of it instead of feeling frustrated? To settle down, to look, to take the time. To think. And even, maybe, to be grateful for that thinking imposed by nature frustrating our desires; an increasingly rare occurrence in today’s developed world. When coming to see orcas, the experience of not seeing them is in line with their life and habitat. Their absence is as telling as their presence. They are not to be commanded. And this, maybe, is also an experience in itself. It is an opportunity, especially in the wild and demanding landscapes of Iceland, to face oneself, to find oneself anew, by taking stock of what can and cannot be.