"What has "Green" ever meant or been associated with for you?" Go ahead, try it. Don't limit yourself to the media's current interpretation. Put your green-tinted glasses on, go way back to your childhood and recall everything labeled green. I randomly went up to strangers and tried this question out as a non-threatening ice-breaker. It worked—sparking fun, interesting remembrances that gave us insights on each other's life experiences.
Theses days anything that can support meaningful conversation, to find connection with another, is a great place to begin. No matter what our beliefs, we're all roommates on Planet Earth. As we hurtle through space on this relatively small speck of mostly collaborating rocks, soil, water, air, and organisms—we might as well converse.
This article appears in Apr 29 – May 5, 2009.