As the world repeatedly talks about “going green” environmentally, I can’t help but remember a simpler time.
Many years ago, before I was an investigator or a businessman, I was travelling on a bus with my cousin. I was a bit philosophical in my youth and we spent a lot of time simply enjoying life and trying to make sense of our existence. On this particular day, as the bus was picking people up and dropping them off, an old middle-eastern man wearing a turban entered the bus. He was being rather loud and had clearly been drinking and he kept telling the few of us that were on board, “You must be green! We must all be green!”. My cousin became nervous, fearing the man would lunge out or become violent but for some reason, I felt surprisingly calm, looked him in the eye and thanked him for his wisdom. He sat down, became calm and seemed to enjoy my explanation to my cousin about what I understood from his comments.
My cousin was beside himself in the confusion of how I could possibly understand the ramblings of this drunken fool but I sat calmly and explained the following:
I said “It makes sense. Green is the colour of life. Whether we choose to grow mentally, spiritually or financially, green is a great representative colour of that vitality.” The old man seemed to agree. I continued, “Green is the colour we associate with money and prosperity, so it also makes sense that we should be “green” in our livelihoods. If we are open to growth we have the best chance for success.” The old man smiled. I said, “Some people become “green” with envy of others but that is a destructive path; we shouldn’t envy what someone else has because that would “grow” our laziness or produce a rotten result. Instead, we should work productively towards our goals and attain those things for ourselves.”
My cousin was in awe of what I was saying and I’ll be honest, I hadn’t thought on it long, it just kind of came to me through the universe at that moment. The old man began to nod as if he understood every word and agreed but I honestly don’t know if he had any idea what I was saying. I continued, “Neither individual plants nor entire gardens grow without help from an external force. They all need water, sunlight, weather, at the very least to set them on the right path. In that way, we should also be “green” enough to realize that trying to make it completely on our own is a difficult if not utterly impossible task. We shouldn’t be afraid to reach out for help or to assist others that ask for our help. That’s just part of a productive life cycle.”
We didn’t discuss the environment that day. We didn’t go any further into it than this. The bus reached our stop, I wished the old man well and we got off of the bus. I have no idea what happened to that man, nor does he have any idea what happened to me since that day, but I still remember that day and reflect on that day often. Maybe it meant nothing but for a brief moment, that stranger positively influenced my life forever going forward. I think there’s value in that. I hope this true story has added some value to your life going forward. If it has, then that stranger managed to influence both of us.
No matter how discouraged you become in life. Or how you are impacted by the negativity of the world around you, I hope that you are green. Just as I try to be. Thanks for reading.
