Who is a traveler?
Simply put, a person on a journey.
And what is a journey?
It can be understood in many ways, as a journey from one place to another, as a pilgrimage, that is a journey towards a specific destination, or as a wandering without a specific purpose.
It can also be considered in different dimensions (concrete, real or metaphorical, symbolic), because a journey is not only a spatial movement from one point to another, but also a deepening of oneself or a transfer in time. Travel can also be seen as an allegory of human life, as each journey is not only a way to gain new experiences, but also a means of finding important values in life or a process of developing one’s personality. What is more, travel seems to be an inseparable element of every human life.
The idea of travel therefore goes beyond mere physical movement, although it happens mainly on a metaphorical plane.
Undoubtedly, travel (and the road) is most often associated with existential metaphors, i.e. transferring the physical forms of travel to the level of reflections, thoughts and musings on life, asking timeless questions about the meaning of existence, such as: who am I? where am I going? what awaits me? what do I want? This, in turn, puts a person in a situation of trial, forces them to cross borders and take up philosophical discourse, and thus to operate the language at the level suitable for philosophers. During the journey, people also face the problem of communication, both in the context of understanding and translating questions that often sound foreign, especially when they relate to issues of identity or cultural difference. In both cases, the ability to arouse curiosity and the ability to amaze and admire must be developed.
It might be said that the consumer character of tourist travel in terms of immersion in the travel experience is less important than what remains invisible.
Therefore, the metaphorical significance of mobility does not focus on a potential change of place, but on its spiritual dimension, which goes far beyond mere mobility in space. In this context, spiritual mobility means, among other things, the ability to think or intellectually relate to different situations, which in modern societies is becoming an imperative, a highly praised and most desirable value. Freedom of movement is treated as a scarce commodity, the distribution of which among consumers is unequal and therefore influences the formation of social divisions. Moreover, various forms and variations of both vertical and horizontal mobility, functioning in the sociology of migration, directly relate to individual changes, such as social status or spatial and geographical location. Moreover, they are most often associated with conscious decisions, although not always in an act of free will.
According to many researchers, the most fascinating thing about mobility is its potential, regardless of whether it results from the concern for existential security or from the need for movement and the resulting curiosity or desire for adventure, or from the unusual experience of the unknown. One travels always and everywhere, regardless of motives. A man on a journey is an outright symbol of our times.