Reading Saramago’s Journey To Portugal while I travel has been an enriching experience. I started it when I was about to go to Portugal and then retook it once there. I had found some trouble picturing the places without a reference. Reading literature allows the writer to create images in our brains. Yet, a system of reference is needed to start the imagination process.

While children begin to develop their ability through repetition and imitation, sometimes it can be challenging as adults. On the one hand, our brains are less prone to absorb new information; on the other hand, we are distracted by multiple stimuli, which we call responsibilities, worries, plans, and so on.

For example, to focus, I sometimes need to do a quick breathing exercise or stretch. Then try again. I should mention that I am writing this literary exercise on a flight. After 9 hours on a plane and still three more to go, I am tired. I want to sleep, but I prefer to avoid jetlag. Thus, I distract my brain with an activity in which I thrive: writing. I am my own reader, and this allows me, as a writer, to create these images in my brain. Writing can be a wonderful exercise to calm a racing mind or to distract an uncomfortable body.

Going back to the book, I will ideally finish it on my way to Cancún, Mexico, and it has been one of the books that has taken me the most time. I have savored the chapters as a foreign meal. While it does have a plot, it's not driven solely by the plot, making it unique compared to typical writing styles. The journey is more important than the actions performed by the traveler. Perhaps as an on-point metaphor of life. Here and now. Be mindful. Memento mori. YOLO. Stay Woke. Different ways to express a similar idea: seize the day!

I am excited to announce that it is working so far. So, keep reading, help me here. As we can agree, Portugal and Croatia are mostly very different. However, I have been finding patterns, as if creating a system of reference sets my brain at ease. One similarity is that both countries have a virtually recent independent democracy. Portugal might be more experienced; Croatia might be resisting less change. Another similarity is that national identity is crucial for both countries. Both Portugal and Croatia have undergone significant political transformations in recent history, resulting in the establishment of independent democracies and the shaping of their national identities. And again, both are struggling with an economic crisis, which is a worldwide phenomenon. As humans, we are too distracted to absorb new information.

Could the ways we have been using be no longer viable? For example, do we need to do something about overthinking? Or are we trying to bite so much at the time that we irremediably overthink? As Byung Chul Han states, the zeitgeist is burnout. We are exhausted, both in our bodies and minds. And we keep pushing ourselves. What for? Is it that bad to experience the natural responses of our bodies and mind to tiredness? Do we simply need a collective 'time-out' from the hustle and bustle of our lives, akin to the breaks we were forced to take as children? How to do it? Who can force us now? The best I can offer are questions; each of us should find a personal answer. One of us may have a great idea to solve the spirit of this time.

Back and forth. It's about dialectics. Could we figure it out? Do I really need sleep? I am confident that both these questions have affirmative answers. Vidimo se! Let’s get it going!

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Alejandra Gotóo (Mexico City, 1991) writes to explain herself the world where she inhabits. Her work has been published in Spain, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Croatia. She holds a master's degree in Social Anthropology and a bachelor's degree in English Literature. Nowadays, she is a columnist in Dubrovnik Times. She has two published novels, Ruptura and Isadore or Absolute Love. Her topics of interest include nature, adventure, language, books, food, culture, animals, conservation, and women's rights. She also writes in her blog: Cardinal Humours.