Friday, February 04, 2011

04-02-11 (Friday) “Traffic Lights”

While I was travelling in Singapore, I came across one of the common sights in this metropolitan city and something that I have come to associate the city-country with.

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Yes. Traffic lights.

I just got to think about how traffic lights work(in layman terms).

Green means “Go”. Yellow means “Get ready to stop/Speed up or you’ll get fined when it turns red/A different shade of green”(depending on which country you are in). Red means “Stop”.

I think our lives have to follow the pattern of the traffic light more. To have regular intervals of green, yellow and red. But the problem is that we’re either always on green or on red.

Always on green

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We tend to overwork ourselves, trying to make every second count. To rush past every intersection in life as fast as we can, in case we hit our ‘deadline’ too soon (excuse the pun). Because of that, we end up missing the details along the way. We forget to savour the journey. We forget to enjoy the people that are on the ride together with us.

Slow down. Have a drink with your friend/partner/siblings/parents/cousins. Watch a comedy. Take a break from work every year or two. Go somewhere away from home. Doesn’t have to be far away, over the oceans. Stay at a local hotel/inn, even. Just get yourself out of your home for a bit, physically preferably.

Always on red

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We’re trying our best to relax all the time. We waste the best part of the day(morning). We take things too easy.

Start small. Try to do something productive for a short time(5 minutes?) when you’re slacking away. Make it a point to carry on with it for a while(2 weeks). Don’t regret not having done what you’d have liked to have done earlier.

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Yellows would be the transitions when we burnout or are very close to getting there. Strike that balance. Have your fair share of “Go!”s and “Stop!”s