This morning, I caught the bus into the city as I had a breakfast meeting in town. A young guy boarded the bus and sat down next to me. We ended up striking up a conversation and finding quite a few points in common- our conversation ranged from comparing notes about work, Winter holidays and travel. What could have been a boring bus ride turned out to be an enjoyable and entertaining journey.
As I was waiting for my bus home, I got thinking about finding common ground with people that we may not think that we have much in common with. I remembered some icebreaker games from a website In Common | Homepage that I’d tried with leaders at the Avonhead Community Trust holiday programme awhile ago. The idea was to find common ground in a group of diverse people and to focus in on our commonalities over and above our differences.
I had a bit of time sitting at the bus stop to look at the website again, and I came across a fun game that I thought I’d try with our Ilam children this week in Kid’s Connection: Whats-in-Common-–-Tamariki-Quiz-Activity-Sheet.pdf Something I love about this is the question “Have you ever stood up for a friend or classmate?” It can be too easy for those who are comfortable or in the majority to pick on those who are different, rather than taking the time to listen, understand or find common ground.
I wonder who you find yourself sharing space with as you go about life? Is there someone who may be different from you? Maybe a conversation with them will reveal some unexpected areas of common ground that will enrich your journey. Is there someone you could support or stand up for? Who is ‘on your bus’?