It's to help make us into better people.

旅行是為了幫助我們成為更好的人。

It's a sort of therapy.

旅行是一種療法。

Without anything mystical being meant by this, all of us are, in one way or another, on what could be termed "an inner journey".

沒有其他神秘的意思，我們每個人都正在以某種方式踏上所謂的「心靈之旅」。

That is, we're trying to develop in particular ways.

也就是說，我們以特定的方法更上一層樓。

In a nutshell, the point of travel is to go to places that can help us in our inner evolution.

總而言之，旅行的意義就是，去可以促進我們內在發展的地方。

The outer journey should assist us with the inner one.

身體的旅行應該要能助心靈的旅行一臂之力。

Every location in the world contains qualities that can support some kind of beneficial change inside a person.

世上的每個角落都包含一些特質，可以激發有益身心的內在改變。

Take these 200 million year old stones in America's Utah Desert.

以美國猶他沙漠上 2 億年之久的頑石為例。

It's a place.

這是個地點。

But looked at psychologically, it's also an inner destination, a place with perspective, free of preoccupation with the petty and the small-minded.

但以精神層面來看，這也是內心的歸宿，充斥著不同視角且不必被瑣事以及見識狹隘的人佔據心頭。

Somewhere imbued with calm and resilience.

一個洋溢著靜謐與元氣的地方。

Religions used to take travel much more seriously than we do now.

宗教在過去對旅行的重視程度遠遠超過現在。

For them, it was a therapeutic activity.

對宗教來說，這是一種療程。

In the Middle Ages, when there was something wrong with you, you were meant to head out for a pilgrimage, to commune with relics of a saint or a member of the holy family.

在中世紀，如果有什麼疑難雜症，你應當來一趟朝聖之旅，去和聖徒或聖家成員的聖骨談心。

If you had toothache, you'd go to Rome, to the Basilica of San Lorenzo and touch the arm bones of Saint Apollonia, the patron saint of teeth.

牙痛時，會去羅馬的聖老楞佐聖殿，摸一下牙齒守護神——聖阿波羅尼亞的手骨。

If you were unhappily married, you might go to Umbria to touch the shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia, patron saint of marital problems.

如果婚姻不快樂，則會去翁布里亞輕撫守護婚姻的聖女——聖婦麗達的聖骨匣。

Or, if you were worried about lightning, you were sent to Bad Münstereifel in Germany to touch the skull of Saint Donatus, believed to offer help against fires and explosions.

或是你很怕打雷，你會被送往德國的巴特明斯特艾弗爾輕觸聖多納圖斯的顱骨，庇佑你免於火災和爆炸的劫難。

We no longer believe in the divine power of journeys.

我們不再相信旅行的神聖力量。

But certain parts of the world still have a power to change and mend the wounded parts of us.

但世界上的某些地方，仍有辦法修復傷痕累累的我們。

In an ideal world, travel agencies would be manned by a new kind of psychotherapist.

在理想的世界，旅行社將會配置新型態的心理治療師。

They'd take care not just of the flights and the hotels, they'd start by finding out what was wrong with us and how we might want to change.

他們除了打理機票和飯店，還要找出我們的毛病，以及我們想要改變的方法。

The anxious might be sent to see the majestic, immemorial waves crashing into the cliffs on the west coast of Ireland.

焦慮的人可能會被送往愛爾蘭西岸，眺望壯麗亙古的海浪擊向懸崖。

People a bit too concerned with being admired and famous might be sent to contemplate the ruins of Detroit.

有點太在意被崇拜或名氣的人，會被送往底特律，在這衰敗的城市中好好思考。

Someone out of touch with their body might be recommended a trip to Porto Seguro in Bahia in Brazil.

身心脫節的人會被建議前往巴西巴伊亞州的塞古魯港走走。

Nowadays, too often, we head off without fully knowing what's wrong with us.

如今，我們太常還沒搞清楚自身的問題就啟程。

Or precisely understanding how our chosen destination is meant to help us.

也不懂得那些目的地會如何幫上我們的忙。

We should become more conscious travelers on a well articulated search for qualities that places possess, like calm or perspective, sensuality or rigor.

我們應該要當個有自覺的旅人，不含糊地追尋每一處的特色，無論恬靜或美景，感官饗宴或自然的嚴峻。

We should follow old-fashioned pilgrims in striving to evolve our characters according to the suggestions offered up by the places we've been to.

我們應該跟隨昔日的朝聖之旅，根據遊歷之處提供的建議，努力提昇我們的人格。

We need to relearn how to be ambitious about travel, seeing it as a way of helping us to grow into better versions of ourselves.

我們需要重新學習如何對旅行抱有雄心壯志，將旅行視為一種方式，幫助我們成長為更好的自己。