Below the Surface

A large portion of an iceberg is below the surface (up to 90% according to the U.S. Geological Survey).  That statistic is one of those Jeopardy-esque bits of information that floats around my mind.  It became REAL to me, though, last month as our ship navigated cautiously around massive icebergs that sometimes dwarfed our ship.

Our onboard Ice Pilot explained to us Newbies that it is important to respect the icebergs: if you cannot pick them up, you stay away from them!

What do you respect?
(Photo: Antarctic Icebergs - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

Gazing out at these castoffs from the ice shelves and glaciers was other-worldly.  I had to remind myself that the Beauty Seen was only surface-level.  There was so much more to this object than what I could see:  there was a depth below the surface that could only be imagined.

At times we caught glimpses of what was below: the ocean waves brushing along the edges; the change in water color near the ice; the play of water, ice and light allowing us to see a few feet below.  How much more cannot be seen... unknown to us without assistance from navigation instruments that could read the depths?

Where do you find beauty?
(Photo: Antarctic Iceberg - several times larger
and longer than our ship - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

A few times our vessel crept close enough to see more:  the surface AND what was hidden.  This closeness sometimes seemed too dangerous, too intimate... especially with memories of the Titanic's fate on our minds!

At that instant I wondered about relationships and dialogue:

• How much of another person do we actually see and experience?
• What remains a mystery to us?
• When do we invite closeness and share vulnerability?
  
• When should we respect distance if a situation is too big to carry?
  

What is below your surface?
(Photo:  Antarctic Iceberg - Larry Gardepie, 2023)

As the icebergs drifted past and we moved on to other vistas, I reflected on the melting of these gigantics: how long would it take to become manageable?

I guess part of our inner work these days is to look at what we hide below our surface and how often we invite honest and vulnerable dialogue to melt the distance between us.

Just wondering:  how much is below your surface... 90%?... and how much do you reveal of yourself to others?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)