My personal experience while driving is that the traffic light goes from green to yellow and everyone takes that as “damnit I am not waiting for another green light” light.
We, I, speed up. Because we, I, shouldn’t have to wait again.
But what if…
When the light turns yellow,
We all slow down.
I think it could very well have a ripple effect. It could change the world.
Imagine.
The light turns yellow. I start to slow down. I stop as the light turns red. Those who have a green light now, go. They are relaxed and not angry at me for making them wait when it was their turn to go. It’s not about the fraction of time they had to wait. It’s about having to sit there while someone else goes, and goes, and goes, when it’s not their turn to go. It’s their turn to stop. The persons at the red light know when it’s their turn. When the light turns green. That’s what it says. Green means go. Red means stop. Yellow means slow down but has, over the years, been mis-translated as “hurry the hell up we can make it!”
Yellow is our reminder.
Yellow means be considerate.
Yellow means there are others who are existing within the same parameters as us.
Imagine. Those sitting at the red who get to go now on green. They will have one less, albeit minor, frustration of someone thinking their ‘turn’ is more important. One less frustration of waiting on someone else’s “I’m more important than the rules or others living with those rules”.
Imagine.
This happening by the millions, every day. The light turns yellow. People slow down. People take turns. People are respectful and considerate of others.
Fractions of frustration being minimized, eliminated, discarded. Fractions by the millions. Every day.
I can see the difference.
Maybe, if we can remember what the yellow light is for, we could install these traffic lights in other parts of our lives.
Just as a reminder.
When the light turns yellow, there are others to consider.
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