A crucial part of the concept of intervention, according to "Leadership on the Line", a course I took at Harvard, is that it doesn't necessarily bring immediate effects. A foreseer's message, for example, may not be readily received by any - or all - when it is first communicated.
But so long as the seed is there, a plant will grow. What's more, with enough water, sunshine and care, it will grow well and ripen. The impact of messages, too, will reveal itself in the long run - once the messages stick.
Or, as philosophers like to put it, even a drop of water could become the ocean.
And that, I think, explains the point of this global odyssey of ours. Harmony is the message of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay. The people who turned out to cheer along many of the 21 legs outside of the Chinese mainland readily accepted this message; others proved unready.
Either way, though, the seed has been planted, and at some point in the future, this message will go through and people will be ready to take it.
That said, I see the relay as a positive opportunity for China to examine its surrounding environment and how different nations see it as the country pursues sustainable development after decades of phenomenal economic growth.
By the same token, the endeavor also enables the world to reflect upon its views on China and learn of the increasingly outspoken Chinese voice.
For instance, in the context of the rising public awareness (and growing tension in a few areas) within China of the country's surrounding reality, the relay leaves plenty of room for those outside China to decide on what to do.
The world is becoming a village, but the water is still deep and wide. So how do we go ahead - by building bridges, tunnels or a boat to cross the river? Or simply shut our eyes, ignore what's really happening and cry wolf?
Indeed, to the extent that we have witnessed the frustration, anger and outcry of hundreds of millions of Chinese in China and overseas following chaos along some legs, the ultimate point is not to be angry. I experienced plenty of hurt and humiliation in the past month: violent window-poundings, frantic curses, obscene signs, just to name a few.
But in the end, anger should only be the first of many layers beneath these unfortunate incidents. The hosts of the turbulent legs themselves hurt as much as the Chinese communities. London was hurt, and so was Paris - I have long loved both cities and felt a warm connection to them.
Over time, actions, reactions and overreactions will gradually translate into meaningful reflections that will promote effective communication. A good part of the dialogue will be, and has already been in some cities recently, initiated by the Chinese communities worldwide, who have shown both the passion and power to act as a potential medium and lubricant between different cultures.
And as a result of this process, the hegemonic bloc of Western media will eventually fade once and for all, as their credibility is now in question like never before. It already has begun to end, as recent events have shown, in which ordinary Joes became faithful reporters online, and where their actions came to affect developments in the real world, in real-time, on a scale and magnitude never before seen. The new momentum opens new windows to see a more accurate picture.
These and other experiences over the past month have given me much hope, after 20-odd years of media work. There has been much frustration over the failure to help bridge the gaps between China and other parts of the world (as I wrote earlier in this column) amidst deepening misunderstandings and the monopoly of Western media.
As the part of the relay outside Chinese mainland draws to a close, my journey as its spokesman has ended; but another, maybe more enduring, journey has just begun - to communicate more effectively for China and the rest of the world so that we can all live in harmony.
Qu Yingpu, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, is spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay
