An April Rainbow

". . .realize clearly that all mankind is one, 

that human beings in every country are members of one and the same family."
- The Dalai Lama

On April 22nd, Earth Day was celebrated throughout our world. Many came together for our planet; organizing street clean-ups and school garden days, committing to greener living, joining on-line communities, attending concerts and many other "acts of green."

As a nature enthusiast and lover of this earth and its citizens, I appreciate all the efforts and personally strive to live my life to make this world a better, safer and cleaner place. 

As I watched a video of various people from all walks of life answer the question "What does Green mean to you?" - I began to think about the downside of our reference to "GREENING" our planet. 

Why did we choose the world "GREEN" - a singular color - to describe how we should take care of our planet? For a planet that is so rich in color and texture - why would we not "COLOR" our planet?

I ask . . .what is GREEN about the BLUE of the ocean, the YELLOW of a rat snake, the GRAY of the night sky, the PURPLE of a Coneflower, the RED of a Woodpecker's belly, the TEAL of tropical fish, the PINK of a Dolphin, the BROWN of the Marmorated stink bug, the WHITE stripe of a blue-winged teal Duck, the ORANGE of a baby Orangutan . . .? 

Don't get me wrong, I love the color of GREEN and its many shades - from jade, lime, vert to fern - I embrace this color. But I do love all the other colors as well and the beautiful way they dance together when mixed. 

So why the singular name of GREEN? Have we not learned that too much emphasis on one color has not produced good results. Our world is fraught with injustices that derive from our focus on "a color" and our need to expand our palette is eminent!

All COLORS are needed to end poverty.
All COLORS are needed to address environmental destruction.
All COLORS are needed to build a bridge to the future for our children and their children. 
All COLORS are needed for sustainable development.
All COLORS are needed to save our planet.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Mother Teresa

Please note that, on both a personal and professional level, I do support "Green" initiatives
and this blog entry is not meant to undermine such projects,
but instead to remind us to keep an all inclusive perspective in all our endeavors.