or state and head somewhere. It is an adventure to meet people, regions, the way of life of other civilisations, but also our closer neighbours. It is an adventure in it- self to sail through rough seas, fly above the clouds or view from great heights barely visible human settle- ments, mountain peaks. It is an adventure to fly over the ocean, over deserts and jungles. Every journey, de- spite elaborate plans of tourist agencies or individuals, brings some uncertainty, which, it can be said, is an un- avoidable companion of travel. By travelling we meet people close or distant, during travels relationships are established that in some cases last as long as life itself. Travelling satisfies our curiosity, our pioneering spirit, which is something rooted in humanity, and one might say in every citizen of this world of ours. Of course, not all travel is for pleasure. There are those journeys that are forced. We are witnesses to the forced and tragic journeys of millions of people who have to leave their homes due to wars, forced persecu- tion or natural disasters that are caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or hurricane storms. Travel compris- es a great part, and perhaps the most important part, of world literature and my-
thology. The story of Orpheus, who descended into the neth- er world in search of Eurydice, Odysseus’s wanderings, which are Greek treasures, but also great and inexhaustible sourc- es of inspiration for contem- porary art, the fantastic travels of Sinbad the Sailor... We can- not imagine our world without travel, which comprises an in- tegral part of the history of civ- ilisations, such as the journeys of Marco Polo, Columbus’s dis- covery of the Americas, the conquering of great moun- tain peaks, descents into the depths of the sea, space trav- el, all this shows how our en-
Istina je i da se čitav ljudski život svodi na neku vrstu putovanja The truth is that the whole of human life boils down to a kind of journey
At every instant, every minute, the globe is flood- ed with travellers. They travel by plane, train, bus, in private cars, by bike and on foot. Occasionally, like in the time of the holiday season, they grind to a halt, in congestion. Someone looking on at thousands, hun- dreds of thousands of people, waiting to pass through toll gates or borders would feel pity for these people, of- ten with small children who endure, as it seems, diffi- cult times under the hot sun, but those travellers who we pity every year, in spite of everything, once again head towards their destinations. Not only during sum- mer but also in winter, regardless of the weather, in storms, blizzards, blazing sunshine, there are always travellers. What has convicted humanity to this con- stant, eternal movement which is called travelling? For many travelling satisfies a desire for adventure. It is al- ready an adventure to abandon one's daily pattern of life, to leave one's apartment or house, to exit one's city vot svodi na neku vrstu putovanja, jer šta je odrastanje nego putovanje od rođenja, detinjstva, zrelosti, do sta- rosti i umiranja. U nekim religijama važno putovanje za koje se čovek mora pripremati još za života počinje tek posle smrti, putovanje u onostrano, nepoznato, taj- novito. Mistika putovanja, eto, posle života produžava se i u smrti. središta... Putovanje izražava duboku želju za unutraš- njom promenom, potrebu za novim iskustvima, mnogo više nego za promenom mesta“. Na kraju krajeva, istina je i da se čitav ljudski ži-
tire civilisation is founded on the restless and curious human spirit, which realises itself through travel. Lit- erature, and particularly the field of science fiction, de- scribes the exciting journey through space, traveling to other planets. Some of the most interesting and best works of literature, an entire genre, picaresque novels, are based on travel narratives, on stories that are nar- rated and listened to while travelling. In the “Diction- ary of Symbols” is the interpretation where the sym- bolism of travel can be “summarised in the pursuit of truth, peace, immortality, in search for the discovery of the seat of the soul... Travel expresses a deep desire for inner change, a need for new experiences, much more than for a change of location”. In the end, the truth is that the whole of human life boils down to a kind of journey, for what is growing if not a journey from birth, through childhood and matu- rity to old age and death? In some religions an impor- tant journey for which one must prepare during life be- gins only after death, a trip to the other world, to the unknown, the mysterious. Mystic travel, thus, contin- ues after life and in death.
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