The Art of Stillness | Pico Iyer | TED

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Ivana Korom

I'm a lifelong traveler.

Ja sam doživotni putnik.

Even as a little kid,

Čak i kao dete,

I was actually working out that it would be cheaper

zapravo sam računao kako bi bilo jeftinije

to go to boarding school in England

ići u internat u Engleskoj

than just to the best school down the road from my parents' house in California.

nego u najbolju školu u okolini kuće mojih roditelja u Kaliforniji.

So, from the time I was nine years old

Tako sam od svoje devete godine

I was flying alone several times a year

leteo sam, nekoliko puta godišnje

over the North Pole, just to go to school.

preko Severnog pola, kako bih otišao do škole.

And of course the more I flew the more I came to love to fly,

Naravno, što sam više leteo, to mi se letenje više dopadalo,

so the very week after I graduated from high school,

tako da sam iste nedelje kada sam maturirao nakon srednje škole

I got a job mopping tables

našao posao gde sam brisao stolove

so that I could spend every season of my 18th year

kako bih mogao da provedem svako godišnje doba svoje 18. godine

on a different continent.

na drugačijem kontinentu.

And then, almost inevitably, I became a travel writer

Onda je bilo skoro neizbežno da postanem putopisac

so my job and my joy could become one.

kako bih posao i uživanje pretvorio u istu stvar.

And I really began to feel that if you were lucky enough

Zaista sam počeo da mislim da ako ste imali tu sreću

to walk around the candlelit temples of Tibet

da hodate kroz hramove u Tibetu osvetljene svećama

or to wander along the seafronts in Havana

ili da lutate obalama Havane

with music passing all around you,

dok se muzika čuje svuda oko vas,

you could bring those sounds and the high cobalt skies

mogli biste da prenesete te zvuke i kobaltno plavo nebo,

and the flash of the blue ocean

kao i žubor plavog okeana

back to your friends at home,

svojim prijateljima kod kuće

and really bring some magic

i da zaista u svoj život unesete

and clarity to your own life.

nešto magije i jasnoće.

Except, as you all know,

Osim toga što, kao što svi znate,

one of the first things you learn when you travel

jedna od prvih stvari koju naučite dok putujete je to

is that nowhere is magical unless you can bring the right eyes to it.

da nijedno mesto nije magično ukoliko ga ne gledate pravim očima.

You take an angry man to the Himalayas,

Ako besnog čoveka odvedete na Himalaje,

he just starts complaining about the food.

samo će početi da se žali na hranu.

And I found that the best way

Na moje čuđenje, otkrio sam da je najbolji način

that I could develop more attentive and more appreciative eyes

da razvijem pažljivije i zahvalnije oči

was, oddly,

bilo to da ne idem nikud,

by going nowhere, just by sitting still.

samo da sedim mirno.

And of course sitting still is how many of us get

Naravno, mirnim sedenjem dobar deo nas dobija ono

what we most crave and need in our accelerated lives, a break.

čemu najviše težimo u našim ubrzanim životima, a to je odmor.

Ali otkrio sam da je to i jedini način

But it was also the only way

that I could find to sift through the slideshow of my experience

da filtriram kroz galeriju svojih iskustava

and make sense of the future and the past.

i pridam smisao budućnosti i prošlosti.

And so, to my great surprise,

Na moje veliko iznenađenje,

I found that going nowhere

otkrio sam da je neodlazak nikud

was at least as exciting as going to Tibet or to Cuba.

u najmanju ruku uzbudljiv kao odlazak na Tibet ili Kubu.

And by going nowhere, I mean nothing more intimidating

Pod neodlaskom nikud, ne smatram nešto strašnije

than taking a few minutes out of every day

od toga da odvojite nekoliko minuta svakog dana

or a few days out of every season,

ili nekoliko dana svakog godišnjeg doba,

or even, as some people do,

ili kao što neki ljudi rade,

a few years out of a life

nekoliko godina života

in order to sit still long enough

kako biste dovoljno dugo stajali u mestu

to find out what moves you most,

da otkrijete šta vas najviše pokreće,

to recall where your truest happiness lies

da se setite gde je vaša istinska sreća

and to remember that sometimes

i da se prisetite da ponekad

making a living and making a life

preživljavanje i življenje

point in opposite directions.

idu u suprotnim pravcima.

And of course, this is what wise beings through the centuries

Naravno, ovo su nam pričali mudri ljudi kroz vekove,

from every tradition have been telling us.

iz svih tradicija.

It's an old idea.

To je stara ideja.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Stoics were reminding us

Pre više od 2000 godina, Stoici su nas podsećali

it's not our experience that makes our lives,

da nije naše iskustvo ono koje čini naše živote,

it's what we do with it.

već ono šta s njime radimo.

Imagine a hurricane suddenly sweeps through your town

Zamislite da kroz vaš grad iznenada prođe uragan

and reduces every last thing to rubble.

i pretvori sve u gradu u prah.

One man is traumatized for life.

Jedan čovek je potresen do kraja života.

But another, maybe even his brother, almost feels liberated,

Drugi čovek, možda njegov brat, oseća se skoro oslobođeno

and decides this is a great chance to start his life anew.

i odlučuje da je ovo sjajna prilika da ponovo započne život.

It's exactly the same event,

U pitanju je identičan događaj

but radically different responses.

ali sa drastično različitim odgovorima.

There is nothing either good or bad, as Shakespeare told us in "Hamlet,"

Ne postoji ništa ili dobro ili loše, kao što je Šekspir napisao u "Hamletu",

but thinking makes it so.

već razmišljanje to čini takvim.

And this has certainly been my experience as a traveler.

Ovo je bilo i moje iskustvo kao putnika.

Twenty-four years ago I took the most mind-bending trip

Pre 24 godine otišao sam na neverovatno putovanje

across North Korea.

po Severnoj Koreji.

But the trip lasted a few days.

Ali putovanje je trajalo nekoliko dana.

What I've done with it sitting still, going back to it in my head,

Ono što sam s njim uradio sedeći, vraćajući mu se u mislima,

trying to understand it, finding a place for it in my thinking,

pokušavajući da ga razumem, nalazeći za njega mesto u mislima,

that's lasted 24 years already

to traje već 24 godine

and will probably last a lifetime.

i verovatno će trajati celog života.

The trip, in other words, gave me some amazing sights,

Drugim rečima, putovanje mi je pružilo neke neverovatne uvide,

but it's only sitting still

ali sam samo sedeći u mestu

that allows me to turn those into lasting insights.

mogao da ga pretvorim u dugotrajne uvide.

And I sometimes think that so much of our life

Ponekad mislim da se dosta naših života

takes place inside our heads,

dešava unutar naših glava,

in memory or imagination or interpretation or speculation,

u sećanju, mašti, tumačenju, nagađanju,

that if I really want to change my life

tako da ako zaista želim da promenim život,

I might best begin by changing my mind.

najbolje bi bilo početi od uma.

Again, none of this is new;

Još jednom, ništa ovde nije novo -

that's why Shakespeare and the Stoics were telling us this centuries ago,

zato su nam Šekspir i Stoici govorili ovo vekovima unazad,

but Shakespeare never had to face 200 emails in a day.

ali Šekspir nikada nije morao da se suoči sa 200 mejlova dnevno.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The Stoics, as far as I know, were not on Facebook.

Koliko ja znam, Stoici nisu bili na Fejsbuku.

We all know that in our on-demand lives,

Svi znamo da smo u našim instant životima

one of the things that's most on demand

mi sami ti koji smo

is ourselves.

među najopterećenijim stvarima.

Wherever we are, any time of night or day,

Gde god da smo, koje god doba dana ili noći,

our bosses, junk-mailers, our parents can get to us.

naši šefovi, pošiljaoci mejlova, naši roditelji, mogu da dopru do nas.

Sociologists have actually found that in recent years

Sociolozi su zapravo otkrili da Amerikanci

Americans are working fewer hours than 50 years ago,

poslednjih godina rade manje sati nego pre 50 godina,

but we feel as if we're working more.

ali imamo osećaj da radimo više.

We have more and more time-saving devices,

Imamo sve više uređaja za uštedu vremena,

but sometimes, it seems, less and less time.

ali se ponekad čini da vremena imamo sve manje.

We can more and more easily make contact with people

Sve lakše možemo kontaktirati ljude

on the furthest corners of the planet,

u najdaljim delovima planete,

but sometimes in that process

ali ponekad u tom procesu

we lose contact with ourselves.

izgubimo dodir sa nama samima.

And one of my biggest surprises as a traveler

Jedno od mojih najvećih iznenađenja kao putnika

has been to find that often it's exactly the people

je to što sam otkrio da su često oni ljudi

who have most enabled us to get anywhere

koji su nam najviše omogućili da idemo svuda

who are intent on going nowhere.

upravo oni koji nemaju nameru da idu bilo kuda.

In other words, precisely those beings

Drugim rečima, upravo ta bića

who have created the technologies

koja su stvorila tehnologije

that override so many of the limits of old,

koje prevazilaze toliko ograničenja starinskog,

are the ones wisest about the need for limits,

su ona koja su najmudrija što se tiče potrebe za ograničenjima,

even when it comes to technology.

čak i kad je tehnologija u pitanju.

I once went to the Google headquarters

Jednom sam otišao u sedište Gugla

and I saw all the things many of you have heard about;

i video sam sve one stvari za koje su čuli mnogi od vas -

the indoor tree houses, the trampolines,

kućice na drvetu unutar zgrade, trampoline,

workers at that time enjoying 20 percent of their paid time free

radnike koji imaju 20% plaćenog vremena slobodno

so that they could just let their imaginations go wandering.

kako bi mogli da puste maštu da luta.

But what impressed me even more

Ali još više me je impresioniralo to,

was that as I was waiting for my digital I.D.,

dok sam čekao svoju digitalnu identifikaciju,

one Googler was telling me about the program

jedan radnik Gugla mi je pričao o programu

that he was about to start to teach the many, many Googlers

koji je trebalo da započne kako bi podučio mnogo drugih

who practice yoga to become trainers in it,

koji vežbaju jogu da postanu treneri,

and the other Googler was telling me about the book that he was about to write

a drugi radnik Gugla mi je pričao o knjizi koju treba da napiše

on the inner search engine,

o unutrašnjem mehanizmu pretrage

and the ways in which science has empirically shown

i načinima na koje je nauka empirijski dokazala

that sitting still, or meditation,

da sedenje ili meditacija može da dovede

can lead not just to better health or to clearer thinking,

ne samo do boljeg zdravlja i jasnijeg razmišljanja,

but even to emotional intelligence.

već i bolje emotivne inteligencije.

I have another friend in Silicon Valley

Imam drugog prijatelja u Silicijumskoj dolini

who is really one of the most eloquent spokesmen

koji je zaista jedan od najelokventnijih zagovornika

for the latest technologies,

najnovijih tehnologija,

and in fact was one of the founders of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly.

i koji je zapravo bio jedan od osnivača magazina "Wired", Kevin Keli.

And Kevin wrote his last book on fresh technologies

Kevin je napisao svoju poslednju knjigu o novim tehnologijama

without a smartphone or a laptop or a TV in his home.

bez pametnog telefona, laptopa ili TV-a u svom domu.

And like many in Silicon Valley,

Poput mnogih u Silicijumskoj dolini,

he tries really hard to observe

veoma se trudi da se pridržava

what they call an Internet sabbath,

onoga što nazivaju internet sabatom,

whereby for 24 or 48 hours every week

gde svake nedelje na 24 ili 48 sati

they go completely offline

potpuno odu sa interneta

in order to gather the sense of direction

kako bi dobili smisao pravca

and proportion they'll need when they go online again.

i proporcije koji će im trebati kada ponovo odu na mrežu.

The one thing perhaps that technology hasn't always given us

Jedna stvar koju nam tehnologija nije uvek dala

is a sense of how to make the wisest use of technology.

je možda smisao za to kako da je najbolje koristimo.

And when you speak of the sabbath,

Kada pričamo o sabatu -

look at the Ten Commandments --

pogledajte Deset zapovesti -

there's only one word there for which the adjective "holy" is used,

tu je samo jedna reč gde se koristi pridev "sveti",

and that's the Sabbath.

i u pitanju je sabat.

I pick up the Jewish holy book of the Torah --

Uzmem svetu jevrejsku knjigu, Toru -

its longest chapter, it's on the Sabbath.

njeno najduže poglavlje tiče se sabata.

And we all know that it's really one of our greatest luxuries,

I svi znamo da je to jedan od naših najvećih luksuza,

the empty space.

prazan prostor.

In many a piece of music, it's the pause or the rest

U mnogo muzičkih dela, pauza ili prekid je ono

that gives the piece its beauty and its shape.

što komadu daje njegovu lepotu i oblik.

And I know I as a writer

Kao pisac, ja znam

will often try to include a lot of empty space on the page

da ću često pokušati da ubacim dosta praznog prostora na stranici

so that the reader can complete my thoughts and sentences

kako bi čitalac mogao da završi moje misli i rečenice

and so that her imagination has room to breathe.

i kako bi čitaočeva mašta imala mesta da diše.

Now, in the physical domain, of course, many people,

Naravno, u fizičkom svetu, dosta ljudi,

if they have the resources,

ako imaju sredstva,

will try to get a place in the country, a second home.

pokušaće da uzmu zemlju na selu, drugi dom.

I've never begun to have those resources,

Nikad nisam počeo da imam ta sredstva,

but I sometimes remember that any time I want,

ali ponekad se setim da kada god hoću,

I can get a second home in time, if not in space,

mogu da imam drugi dom u vremenu, ako ne u prostoru,

just by taking a day off.

samo tako što ću uzeti slobodan dan.

And it's never easy because, of course, whenever I do I spend much of it

To nikad nije lako jer, naravno, kada god to uradim, dobar deo provedem

worried about all the extra stuff

brinući se o dodatnim stvarima

that's going to crash down on me the following day.

koje će se sručiti na mene sledećeg dana.

I sometimes think I'd rather give up meat or sex or wine

Ponekad pomislim da bih se radije odrekao mesa, seksa ili vina

than the chance to check on my emails.

nego mogućnosti da proveravam mejl.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And every season I do try to take three days off on retreat

Svakog godišnjeg doba pokušam da se povučem na tri dana

but a part of me still feels guilty to be leaving my poor wife behind

ali deo mene se još oseća krivim što ostavljam svoju jadnu suprugu

and to be ignoring all those seemingly urgent emails

i ignorišem sve te naizgled hitne mejlove

from my bosses

od svojih šefova

and maybe to be missing a friend's birthday party.

i možda propuštam rođendansku žurku nekog prijatelja.

But as soon as I get to a place of real quiet,

Ali čim dođem na mesto potpunog mira,

I realize that it's only by going there

shvatam da samo odlaskom na takvo mesto

that I'll have anything fresh or creative or joyful to share

dobijam nešto sveže, kreativno ili radosno što bih podelio

with my wife or bosses or friends.

sa suprugom, šefovima ili prijateljima.

Otherwise, really,

Inače, zaista,

I'm just foisting on them my exhaustion or my distractedness,

samo im namećem svoju iscrpljenost ili zaokupljenost,

which is no blessing at all.

što uopšte nije blagoslov.

And so when I was 29,

Kada sam imao 29 godina,

I decided to remake my entire life

odlučio sam da preuredim ceo život

in the light of going nowhere.

tako što neću ići nigde.

One evening I was coming back from the office,

Jedne večeri sam se vraćao iz kancelarije,

it was after midnight, I was in a taxi driving through Times Square,

ponoć je prošla, bio sam u taksiju i išao sam Tajms skverom,

and I suddenly realized that I was racing around so much

i odjednom sam shvatio da sam toliko jurcao

I could never catch up with my life.

da nikad nisam mogao da sustignem svoj život.

And my life then, as it happened,

Tako se desilo, da je moj život tada

was pretty much the one I might have dreamed of as a little boy.

bio skoro pa onaj o kom sam sanjao kao dečak.

I had really interesting friends and colleagues,

Imao sam veoma zanimljive prijatelje i kolege,

I had a nice apartment on Park Avenue and 20th Street.

lep stan na ćošku Avenije Park i 20. ulice.

I had, to me, a fascinating job writing about world affairs,

Po meni, imao sam fascinantan posao gde sam pisao o dešavanjima u svetu,

but I could never separate myself enough from them

ali nikad nisam mogao da sebe dovoljno odvojim od toga

to hear myself think --

da se čujem kako mislim -

or really, to understand if I was truly happy.

ili zaista, razumevam da li sam istinski bio srećan.

And so, I abandoned my dream life

Tako sam napustio svoj život iz snova

for a single room on the backstreets of Kyoto, Japan,

zbog jedne sobe u uličicama Kjota u Japanu,

which was the place that had long exerted a strong,

mesta koje me je dugo

really mysterious gravitational pull on me.

vuklo sebi na jak i misteriozan način.

Even as a child

Čak i kao dete,

I would just look at a painting of Kyoto and feel I recognized it;

samo bih pogledao sliku Kjota i prepoznao bih ga,

I knew it before I ever laid eyes on it.

znao sam ga pre nego što sam ga video svojim očima.

But it's also, as you all know,

Kao što znate, to je

a beautiful city encircled by hills,

predivan grad okružen brdima,

filled with more than 2,000 temples and shrines,

sa više od 2000 hramova i svetilišta,

where people have been sitting still for 800 years or more.

gde su ljudi bili u mestu 800 i više godina.

And quite soon after I moved there, I ended up where I still am

Ubrzo nakon što sam se tamo preselio, završio sam ovde gde sam još uvek,

with my wife, formerly our kids,

sa suprugom, tada našom decom,

in a two-room apartment in the middle of nowhere

u dvosobnom stanu, bogu iza nogu,

where we have no bicycle, no car,

bez bicikla, bez automobila,

no TV I can understand,

bez TV programa koji razumem,

and I still have to support my loved ones

i još uvek moram da izdržavam moje najbliže

as a travel writer and a journalist,

kao putopisac i novinar,

so clearly this is not ideal for job advancement

tako da ovo očigledno nije idealno za napredak u poslu,

or for cultural excitement

kulturno uzbuđenje

or for social diversion.

ili društvenu različitost.

But I realized that it gives me what I prize most,

Ali shvatio sam da mi to daje ono što najviše cenim,

which is days

a to su dani

and hours.

i sati.

I have never once had to use a cell phone there.

Tamo nijednom nisam morao da koristim mobilni telefon.

I almost never have to look at the time,

Skoro nikad nisam morao da gledam na sat,

and every morning when I wake up,

i svakog dana kada bih ustao

really the day stretches in front of me

dan bi se preda mnom ispružio

like an open meadow.

kao otvorena livada.

And when life throws up one of its nasty surprises,

A kada život izbaci jedno od svojih gadnih iznenađenja,

as it will, more than once,

kao što zna, više puta,

when a doctor comes into my room

kada doktor dođe u moju sobu

wearing a grave expression,

sa ozbiljnim izrazom lica

or a car suddenly veers in front of mine on the freeway,

ili automobil iznenada skrene ispred mog na putu,

I know, in my bones,

znam, u svojoj srži,

that it's the time I've spent going nowhere

da će me vreme koje sam proveo ne idući nikud

that is going to sustain me much more

održati mnogo više od vremena

than all the time I've spent racing around to Bhutan or Easter Island.

koje sam proveo jurcajući po Butanu ili Uskršnjem ostrvu.

I'll always be a traveler --

Uvek ću biti putnik -

my livelihood depends on it --

moja egzistencija zavisi od toga -

but one of the beauties of travel

ali jedna od lepota putovanja je to

is that it allows you to bring stillness

što vam dozvoljava da donesete mirovanje

into the motion and the commotion of the world.

u kretanje i halabuku sveta.

I once got on a plane in Frankfurt, Germany,

Jednom sam seo na avion u Frankfurtu, u Nemačkoj,

and a young German woman came down and sat next to me

i mlada Nemica je došla i sela pored mene

and engaged me in a very friendly conversation

i započela veoma prijateljski razgovor

for about 30 minutes,

koji je trajao oko 30 minuta,

and then she just turned around

i onda se samo okrenula

and sat still for 12 hours.

i mirno sedela 12 sati.

She didn't once turn on her video monitor,

Nijednom nije uključila svoj monitor,

she never pulled out a book, she didn't even go to sleep,

nije izvukla knjigu, nije čak ni spavala,

she just sat still,

samo je sedela mirno,

and something of her clarity and calm really imparted itself to me.

i nešto od njene čistoće i smirenosti se zaista prenelo na mene.

I've noticed more and more people taking conscious measures these days

Primetio sam da ovih dana sve više ljudi svesno poduzima mere

to try to open up a space inside their lives.

kako bi stvorili prostora u svojim životima.

Some people go to black-hole resorts

Neki ljudi odlaze u izolovana odmarališta

where they'll spend hundreds of dollars a night

gde će potrošiti stotine dolara za noć

in order to hand over their cell phone and their laptop

samo da predaju svoj telefon i laptop

to the front desk on arrival.

recepciji po dolasku u hotel.

Some people I know, just before they go to sleep,

Neki ljudi koje znam, pre nego što odu na spavanje,

instead of scrolling through their messages

umesto pregledanja svojih poruka

or checking out YouTube,

ili posete Jutjubu,

just turn out the lights and listen to some music,

samo isključe svetla i slušaju muziku

and notice that they sleep much better

i primećuju da spavaju mnogo bolje

and wake up much refreshed.

i bude se odmorniji.

I was once fortunate enough

Jednom sam imao sreće

to drive into the high, dark mountains behind Los Angeles,

da se vozim do visokih, tamnih planina iza Los Anđelesa,

where the great poet and singer

gde je veliki pisac i pevač

and international heartthrob Leonard Cohen

i međunarodni srcelomac, Lenard Koen

was living and working for many years as a full-time monk

živeo i radio mnogo godina kao pravi monah

in the Mount Baldy Zen Center.

u Zen centru Maunt Boldi.

And I wasn't entirely surprised

Nije me iznenadilo

when the record that he released at the age of 77,

kada je album koji je snimio u svojoj 77. godini,

to which he gave the deliberately unsexy title of "Old Ideas,"

kojem je dao namerno neprivlačan naziv "Stare ideje"

went to number one in the charts in 17 nations in the world,

došao na prvo mesto top lista u 17 zemalja sveta,

hit the top five in nine others.

a u drugih devet je bio u prvih pet.

Something in us, I think, is crying out

Mislim da nešto u nama vapi

for the sense of intimacy and depth that we get from people like that.

za osećajem intimnosti i dubine koje dobijamo od takvih ljudi

who take the time and trouble to sit still.

koji odvoje vreme da bi sedeli mirno.

And I think many of us have the sensation,

I mislim da mnogi imaju osećaj, ja ga imam svakako,

I certainly do,

that we're standing about two inches away from a huge screen,

da sedimo na oko 5 centimetara od ogromnog platna

and it's noisy and it's crowded

i bučno je i prenatrpano

and it's changing with every second,

i menja se svake sekunde,

and that screen is our lives.

a to platno je naš život.

And it's only by stepping back, and then further back,

Samo tako što ćemo koraknuti unazad, i onda još nazad,

and holding still,

i tako što ćemo biti mirni,

that we can begin to see what the canvas means

možemo da počnemo da vidimo šta platno znači

and to catch the larger picture.

i da vidimo širu sliku.

And a few people do that for us by going nowhere.

Nekoliko ljudi to čini za nas tako što ne idu nigde.

So, in an age of acceleration,

U dobu ubrzanja,

nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow.

ništa ne može biti uzbudljivije od toga da idete polako.

And in an age of distraction,

A u dobu ometanja pažnje,

nothing is so luxurious as paying attention.

ništa nije tako luksuzno kao obraćanje pažnje.

And in an age of constant movement,

A u dobu stalnog kretanja,

nothing is so urgent as sitting still.

ništa nije tako hitno kao sedenje u mestu.

So you can go on your next vacation

Tako da na sledeći odmor možete otići

to Paris or Hawaii, or New Orleans;

u Pariz, na Havaje ili u Nju Orleans -

I bet you'll have a wonderful time.

kladim se da ćete se divno provesti.

But, if you want to come back home alive and full of fresh hope,

Ali ako želite da se kući vratite živahni i puni sveže nade,

in love with the world,

zaljubljeni u svet,

I think you might want to try considering going nowhere.

mislim da ćete možda želeti da uzmete u obzir da ne idete nikud.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)