There is some truth to the song "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane; except I would argue that "life is a road," is a better analogy, although it doesn't sound as hip (Then again, I don't know if there's anything hip about a song that's twenty years old). But what I mean with this road analogy is that sometimes we go fast, sometimes we go slow, and oftentimes we forget about what really matters. On roads, this translated to stoplights. I know, I've probably lost you with that last bit. But hear me out for a second.
Stoplights. I don't think we give them their fair due to be honest. We do for green lights of course, and we see them very positively. Freedom, the ability to go. Even though we're actually being told to. And we do for red lights too—so oppressive. But we often forget there's something in the middle.
We live with one foot on the gas pedal and our hands on the wheel so we say we're in control. But we all travel down the same road, which has been paved before us by countless others. We try to define ourselves by the speed we go at or the way we hold the wheel. But in truth we are told when we can stop and when we can go. Does it really matter if you drive at 200 mph or if you hold the steering wheel with a sturdy grip if you're gonna stop at the next red light anyway? So then, what does matter?
Yellow lights.
In our life-road analogy. the yellow light represents ambiguity. How do you act in a circumstance that is not perfectly defined? This is when it's up to you. Unlike green and red, yellow is open to interpretation. It's open to free will. Truly, it's how we react to these moments that matters. It's how we deal with yellow lights that defines us.
Sometimes the yellow light means we should go, sometimes it means we should stay. Sometimes it means we should slow down, look around, see no one's coming. Or slow down to appreciate where we're at, and what's in front of us, and where we're going. We get so caught up in getting to our destinations, that we forget to enjoy the journey. We've all been told life has never been about getting from point A to point B anyways, but about what happens between the points. But why, what makes the journey so special? It's the yellow lights along the way, the little choices, and the big ones too; the moments that are up to you, and no one else. The moments when you live up to a situation, or you hesitate. When you hit the gas and rip through, or you stay behind and wonder, what if...
And then there are times when we stop to let a passerby walk through. We sacrifice our opportunity to encourage someone else's, and this gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment even stronger than the one gotten from doing something for ourselves. Then stopping doesn't feel like failure at all...
So next time you pass a yellow light going down the street, notice it. Give it a little nod, and a hint of a smile. Feel that glint in your eyes. Hear your breath, feel your heart beating. Remember you're alive, and you're not just a tourist wandering aimlessly through existence. Know that just being here makes you immensely unique, and immensely lucky. And know that this is your moment, and that nobody else is in control. Own it.
