What does it mean to travel? Što to znači putovati?

Travel. Has there ever been a word so poignant with meaning? For what it is to travel? Isn't travel a part of our daily lives ? Do we not all travel back when we remember? We travel in time, space and memory whenever we have a trandescental experience of anykind, whenever we rise to our higher potential as human beings. Our life is like one voyage after another. Often we aren't even aware of how much travelling we truly undertake. Our languages, however, remember. That is why we have so many idioms and metaphors connected with travelling in our vocabularies. Human languages are a fascinating field to study, because they can tell us so much about ourselves, about things that matter to us.  Writers, in particular, often recognize the value of this word 'travel' and explore its hidden meaning and its presence in our collective consciousness. 

Putovanje. Je li ijedna riječ bila tako puna značenjem? Što to znači putovati? Zar nije putovanje dio naših svakodnevnih života? Zar ne putujemo svi kada se prisjećamo? Mi putujemo u vremenu, prostoru i sjećanju kada god imamo neko transcendentalno iskustvo, kada uživamo u umjetnosti ili dosegnemo neki svoj viši potencijal kao ljudska bića. Naš život je poput niza putovanja. Često nismo ni svjesni koliko putujemo. Naši jezici ipak pamte. Zato u svojima vokabularima imamo toliko idioma i metafora koje su povezane s putovanje. Ljudski jezici su zanimljivo polje za izučavanje jer nam mogu reći puno toga o nama, o stvarima koje su nam bitni. Posebno pisci shvaćaju vrijednost riječi "putovanje", te okrivaju njena skrivena značenja i njenu prisutnost u našoj kolektivnoj svijesti.

In our daily lives there are different kinds of travel. Some people travel away for a vacation, some chose a stayaction and some must commute to get to work. Movement is a part of who we are. Every doctor will tell you that movement is important for our health. Human beings were not made to be still. We need to keep moving. Not all the time, obviously, but within us exist a need for movement. There is a strong biological element in this need to travel. Often people make the mistake of assuming that this is a century of travel, while it is a fact that people always travelled. Sometimes it took them half our their lives to get from one place to another, but they have done it. Why? What it is in us that drives us forward, that makes us explore? Is it only a biological impuls, mere instict, or is there something more to it, an echo of some fundamental need?

U našom svakodnevnom životu postoje različite vrste putovanja. Neki ljudi putuju na odmor, neki se odlučuju na godišnji u mjestu stanovanja, a neki moraju putovati do posla. Kretanje je dio onoga što jesmo. Svaki će vam liječnik reći da je kretanje važno za naše zdravlje. Ljudska bića nisu stvorena za mirovanje. Moramo nastavljati kretanje. Naravno ne stalno, ali u nama postoji potreba za kretanjem koja ima svoj snažni biološki element. Često ljudi prave grešku pretpostavljanja da je ovo stoljeće putovanja, kada je istina da su ljudi uvijek putovali. Nekad im je trebalo pola njihovih života da dođu od jednoga mjesta na drugo, ali oni su to napravili. Zašto? Što je to u nama što nas tjera naprijed, što nas navodi na istraživanje? Je li to samo biološki impuls, goli nagon ili postoji i neke dublja potreba kojoj je potreba za kretanjem samo odjek?

Whatever it is, I'm sure it is not a bad thing. This desire to travel. Wanderlust. A hunger for something new, a desire to learn more, to discover something we didn't know before, to become familiar with a new culture, to enjoy a fresh persceptive. Travel is indeed an interesting word to mediate on. It really can be intepreted in so many ways. We can regard our life as a journey. In that sense, all of us are travellers, all of us by the end of our lives do a lot of travelling. 

Što god to bilo, sigurna sam da to nije loše stvar. Želja za putovanjem. Žudnja za lutanjem. Glad za nečim novim, želja da naučimo više, da otkrijemo nešto što nismo znali prije, da se upoznamo s novim kulturom, da uživamo u svježoj perspektivi. Putovanje je doista zanimljiva riječ za razmotriti. Doista se može tumačiti na puno načina. Možemo život promatrati kao putovanje.  U tom smislu, svi smo mi putnici, svi smo mi do kraja života puno putujemo. 

What have we learned on our travels will depend more on how closely we observed, than on where we have been. For truly, isn't our position a relative thing? Isn't where we are a combination of spiritual and material factors? For example, how could we experience some beautiful place if we are tired? The most wonderful sights might be before our eyes, but we wouldn't notice them, we wouldn't really take them in. In contrast, there were people who spend almost their entire lives in prison but nevertheless they managed to produce the most wonderful works of literature. How is this possible? How their inspiration came to be? The answer is simple. Within. These days people have forgotten that it is as important to travel within as it to travel on the outside.

Što smo naučili na našim putovanjima će ovisi više o tome koliko smo pažljivo promatrali, nego o time gdje smo bili. Zaista, zar nije naš položaj relativna stvar? Zar nije ono gdje smo kombinacija duhovnih i materijalnih čimbenika? Na primjer, kako bismo mogli iskusiti neko lijepo mjesto ako smo umorni? Najdivniji vidici nam mogu biti ispred očiju, ali mi ih ne bismo primijetili, ne bismo ih doista iskusili. Nasuprot tome, neki su ljudi proveli skoro cijele živote u zatvoru, ali su uspjeli napisali najdivnija djela književnosti. Kako je to moguće? Kako se pojavilo  njihovo nadahnuće? Odgovor je jednostavan. Iznutra. Danas su ljudi zaboravili da je važno putovati iznutra, jednako važno kao vanjsko putovanje je ono unutarnje. 

That all being said, I do believe that this desire to travel is often a very good indication. Why? Because it reflects something that exists deep in our souls, something that is perhaps more easily reached when our spirtual movement is followed by actual physical movement. Moreover, this desire to travel, this wanderlust born in our souls, often means we're willing to learn something new, that we're willing to make an effort. It may mean that we're reaching out, opening our souls to something new and that isn't a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?

Uza sve to, vjerujem da je naša želja za putovanjem često jako dobar pokazatelj. Zašto? Zato jer pokazuje nešto što postoji duboko u našim dušama, nešto što možda lakše dosežemo kada naše duhovno kretanje prati ono u fizičkom smislu. Nadalje, ova želja za putovanjem, ova žeđ za lutanjem rođena u našoj duši, često znači da smo željni naučiti nešto novo, da smo spremni potruditi se. To može značiti da posežemo za nečim, otvaramo naše duše nečem novom i to nije loše stvar, slažete li se? 

Only a moment ago, I have given you an example of imprisoned people who were able not only to travel but travel in the most precious way, travel within their own soul. However, most of us are not imprisoned. We have options on our disposal. Most people need to travel on the budget or even travel within the city they live in, but all can travel if they get creative. So, take that walk, explore your own town/village and its surrounding or make that budget trip happen. Save money if you really want to visit some place (probably that will make your visit much sweeter), but don't forget to explore the area you live in. Treasure that wanderlust within and don't forget that it is as meaningful as you make it.

Prije trenutak, dala sam vam primjer zatvorenih ljudi koji ne samo da su mogli putovati, nego su putovali na najdragocjeniji način, putovali su unutar svojih duša. Ipak, većina nas nije zatvorena. Imamo opcije na raspolaganju. Većina ljudi mora putovati s ograničenim sredstvima ili čak putovati unutar grada u kojem žive, ali svi mogu putovati ukoliko su dovoljno kreativni. Otiđite u tu šetnju, istražite vlastiti grad/selo i njegovu okolicu ili se odlučite na to povoljno putovanje. Štedite ukoliko zaista želite posjetiti neko mjesto (vjerojatno će vam zbog toga bitii slađe posjetiti ga) ali ne zaboravite istražiti mjesto u kojem živite. Njegujte tu žudnju za putovanjem u sebi i ne zaboravite da je njeno značenje onoliko duboko koliko ga vi sami takvim učinite. 

You may think that because I have taken this ferry ride from Starigrad to Split many times that it has stopped being meaningful to me, but I assure you that it is not so. On the contrary, everytime it is more meaningful because it makes me travel in past and remember 'old times'. As for the Croatian coast, I can never get tired of it. It will never stop to amaze me and as long as I'm on a boat of any kind, I will always be on the deck observing closely its beauty and taking it all in. On this particular ferry ride, I will always be there watching us exit the Split harbour, I will be there searching for Trogir city in distance, studying what new houses were build on island Čiovo. I will watch out for island Šolta  and  see it go by as we sail on I will admire Brač and all of its bays that I have seen so many times before but this and every time will be like the first time.

Možda mislite da zbog toga što sam već puno puta bila na ovoj vožnji trajektom iz Starigrada u Split da mi je prestala biti značajna, ali uvjeravam vas da nije tako. Baš nasuprot, svaki put mi znači više jer zbog nje putujem i prošlost i sjećam se svim prošlih malih plovidbi. Što se time same hrvatske obale, nikada me neće prestati zadivljavati i dok sam god na brodu bilo kakve vrste biti ću na palubi, pažljivo gledajući njenu ljepotu i upijajući sve to. Na ovoj vožnji trajektom, ja ću biti tu,gledati kako izlazimo iz splitske luke, ja ću biti tu tražeći grad Trogir u daljini, proučavajući koje su nove kuće sagrađene na Čiovu. Gledat ću Šoltu i promatrat ću kako prolazi dok plovimo...Divit ću se Braču i svim njegovim uvalama koje sam vidjela toliko puta, a opet je svaki put kao prvi i tako će uvijek biti.

The odds that I will be reading newspapers, checking my social networks or doing anything of the sort in that moment are scarce. Despite the fact that there is a practical purpuse behind my trip, I will at that moment travel. Not because I'm on a ferry but because I choose to do so. Therefore, travelling is a word that can take many meanings and it is not always what the advertisements claim. Don't let advertisement tell you how to live or for that matter how to travel. Find your own way, be unique, be creative, discover what works for you personally. Nobody can know what your heart truly needs at that point in time, that is something you need to discover for yourself.

Vjerojatnost da ću ja tada čitati novine ili provjeravati svoje društvene mreže ili bilo što slično je jako mala. Unatoč tome što postoji praktični razlog iza moga puta, ja ću putovati. Stoga putovanje je riječ koja može preuzeti brojna značenja i nije uvijek ono što reklame tvrde. Nemojte dopustiti da vam reklame govore kako ćete živjeti. Pronađite svoj vlastiti put, budite jedinstveni, budite kreativni, otkrijte što je najbolje za vas osobno. Nitko ne može znati što vaše srce zaista treba u tom trenutku, to morate otkriti sami.