Day 17- Stoplights

It is said that a person spends 6 months of their life at a stoplight. Stoplights are often seen as bad. Hindering our travels, slowing us down, telling us to stop when all we want to do is go. Stoplights are even thought of as bad because of their color, red. A stop sign is red. Blood is red when it comes out of the body. Warning signs are often red. All seemingly bad things in many peoples eyes. What people don't often think about though is that a stoplight is a time for us to slow down. To gather our thoughts, to look around us. They force us to. The best thing that happens when I am driving is when an impatient person pulls up behind me, tailgating me in a very unnecessary way and passes me, only to end up stopped at the same stoplight. It didn't get them anywhere any faster than me. I am not saying that I am not guilty of doing this sometimes. Everyone gets impatient, but even when someone is running late, flustered and probably driving recklessly, there will always be that stoplight to slow us down and make us wait. This may seem to be a waste of life to some people, but think about all of the other things we do that seemingly "wastes" our life away. 


Time is something we can never get back. I will never be a teenager again. I will never be in high school again. I can never go back, always moving forward, getting older, not much wiser and a whole lot sassier. It's a funny thing, time. It seems to drag on when we are bored, or doing something we don't want to do and fly right by when we are having fun. Time can never be paused on a moment. It may seem like it sometimes, that time slows down at a significant point in life, or when it seems like everything is going wrong. With all the technology around us these days, it is easy to get caught up in it all. To waste away time being more connected with technology than with ourselves. I am guilty of this. I have a Twitter and a Facebook and I'm LinkedIn and hey, I'm even blogging. But when's the last time we just unplugged from everything and went on a bike ride. Whens the last time we just sat around with friends and enjoyed each others company instead of instant messaging them on Facebook. I understand that these resources are a great way for us to keep in touch with those who are far away. But sometimes, we need to refocus on the people here with us now, before they to go their own way, sometimes forever. One of my sisters friends from high school died recently. I knew him, not well, but he used to park next to us everyday my 8th grade year. He always pulled up with a smile on his face a wave. Its people like that that make the world turn. Those who can put a smile on others faces without even trying. We are all in a hurry to get somewhere. To get to the next destination, that sometimes, we forget to enjoy our current place. 


I like where I am in life these days. I can go anywhere from here. There will come a time when I move out and live on my own. When I get married, maybe have kids of my own. My life will move at hyper speed and I'll be 40 before I even know what hit me. For now, I am going to enjoy living at home, in the warmth of my own bed, under my parents roof. The teasing and the chores are actually nice. They remind me of how I got to where I am today. They remind me that home will always be here. And for now, I am just going to be here. I'm going to ride my bike around the neighborhood, wave at my neighbors, smile and kiss my parents when I get home, pet my dog and cuddle with him while we watch movies in the worn down chair. These are moments that will eventually be gone. So now is the time to cherish them. I am coming to a stoplight. I am seeing the red as a sign of the love, warmth and passion that can come with life. I am looking around at my surroundings and enjoying the break. 


Next time you are stopped at a stoplight, look around you. Take a breath. Feel something you've never felt. Think something you wouldn't normally let cross your mind. Smile, even though nothing funny has been said. Smile because you can. Think because you someday might not be able to. Roll the windows down, feel the breeze. Life is short and sometimes over too soon. Don't think about the stoplight as a roadblock, but think of it as more of rest stop. Hug your family because you can. Love yourself because its the vessel that makes life possible. Then spread that love to those who have lost it and remind them that even with all the bad in the world, there is still good. Life is beautiful thing, why speed threw it like a yellow light.