蜜芽传媒

The Bafta winning programme Race Across the World returned to our screens this week. In each series, five pairs of contestants (each with a story to tell) cross a different part of the world old-school style with just maps and cash.

This year the fourteen-thousand-kilometre journey is through China, Nepal and India complete with stunning scenery and John Hannah鈥檚 great commentary.

Although there鈥檚 prize money, you soon realise that the programme is about much more than winning. It has an unexpected, spiritual side which is subtle and constantly surprises. The Celtic proverb 鈥� 鈥渢he way you think it; may not be the way it is after all鈥� is true. It sums up many of the examples presented in the programme both in terms of the journey itself and in the relationships which develop over time.

As is usual when travelling, the discovery of new places and communities is exhilarating. There鈥檚 history in abundance. Different cultures conjure up many surprises. There鈥檚 also unexpected challenges to overcome. Often a stranger will then pop up in 鈥楪ood Samaritan style鈥�, to offer a lift, a room for the night, some work when cash is low. And the result? Faith in humanity is restored. Barriers broken down. There is genuine kindness on display. It鈥檚 really uplifting.

Because of the programme鈥檚 competitive nature, glimpses of faith and moments of transformation are often unexpected. But the nub of Race Across the World is still how any kind of journeying with others forms and nurtures us.

That鈥檚 certainly true whenever I鈥檝e been on a trip with other people, including leading pilgrimages to far-flung places. It鈥檚 usually only when I return home, and assimilate all that happened during my travels, that I can appreciate the places I鈥檝e visited, and the stories shared with others.

Good relationships usually never stand still. Priorities and aspirations inevitably move on and hopefully for the better. The Irish poet George Augustus Moore is right: 鈥淎 person travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it鈥�.

A daily conundrum facing most of us is which is the best route to take in life to arrive at your desired destination? And there鈥檚 surely not much better advice than the wisdom of Moses. In the Book of Exodus, having undertaken one of the most extraordinary and well-known journeys of all time, Moses finds, as one commentator observed, that the best route through life isn鈥檛 necessarily the shortest, but the one that shapes us most.

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