Traffic lights, also known as traffic signals, traffic lamps, traffic semaphore, signal lights, stop lights and traffic control signals are signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations to control flows of traffic. It consists of the green, red and yellow colour signs. But what is there to learn from this seemingly simple machine? If thats the question on your mind, then come aboard as we go through it together.
The Red Lights
Red as a colour is normally perceived as a sign of danger, little wonder why people tend to associate red colours with bad things. The primary reason why the colour red is used for danger signals is that red light is scattered the least by air molecules. The reason behind the scattering is explained by Rayleigh scattering. The effect of scattering is inversely related to the fourth power of the wavelength of a colour. Red has the highest wavelength of all the visible radiations and is therefore scattered the least. So red light is able to travel the long distance through fog, rain and the like but red is also the supposed colour of love.
But of all colours, why use red?
Red is the prominent colour of all the colours. The main reason why it is used in traffic signals is, no matter how bad the weather is, be it rainy or extremely foggy or extremely dusty condition or any weather condition with low visibility, a driver can see the light from a far distance and stop the car safely.
Relation to human life
The red light of the traffic sign indicates that an oncoming vehicle no matter how fast it wants to get to its destination halts for a moment and be in a state of zero movement or state of rest.
The human race keeps striving for something better, for an improvement, for that breakthrough.
There are times when all we want is to move ahead, be at the top of our careers, be at the top of our game. We put in all efforts, come with a strong force and enough zeal that is enough to shake the world, but just like the oncoming vehicle coming with so much speed, we are forced against our will, against our wish, against our desires to halt, to come to a point of no movement, no advancement.
We are brought to a place and situation in which physics defined as a body under rest, having zero velocity and no acceleration. Just like the red colour, it becomes obvious that it seems the end is here, we get to feel discouraged, never realizing that the red lights will soon turn green within a matter of time.
Now that you know it is not a permanent place or destination, what do you do in the waiting period?
- Stay calm:
stay calm? really? Yes.
Inasmuch as we want to get that favorite position, that college degree, that dream job or any other thing we desire, we must first remain calm when we get to the stop sign. Just like the traffic light, the red sign brings the vehicle to a state of rest in other words, a state of calmness.
It is not actually easy coming with a speed almost as that of light and be taken back to zero. Reminds me of when I heard about steemit from my friends, oh with so much burning desire of making money, I dashed into it, but I have been brought to my state of rest and it seems that I cant achieve what I set out for. But I am learning to stay calm and put my head above the waters. Depression might set in, friends and family may feel disappointed, even some people might have to alight from your vehicle. But in all, stay calm.
Understand that this is not the end:
Remind yourself that this state of rest is not the end of your journey.
Remind yourself of why you didnt come this far only to come this far. I am an undergraduate student and most times I get to meet these stop signs in my academics, I tend to lose focus at times, but one thing keeps me going, “you didnt get to this point just to quit. I am in my finals now and I must say I have been able to scale through by reminding myself of why I even started the journey and I have not regretted it.Draw inspiration from others while you wait:
Reminding yourself of why you started might not be enough energy to keep you in your car and still keep your acts together. You can also draw inspiration from other peoples experiences while they passed through the stop sign. Coming to a strong determination that if they passed through that point in their life, then your case is not going to be different. In music, education, movies and even in my beloved steemit, I have many people whom I look up to for inspiration. They have been a positive energy while in my waiting period. I hope that this post inspires someone too.
The Yellow Light
The yellow (amber) light warns that the signal is about to change to red and also indicates that the signal is about to change to green.
Relation to human life
The yellow light indicates that things are about to change. It either indicates that you are about to be brought to a halt or required to start moving. It is a transition between being at rest, doing nothing and movement. It is relatively a short period of time.
Many a times, we might get that heads up, for example, an interview in a law firm after you have been denied for years, a proposal to carry out a contract.
There is nothing much to do in the get ready, you are almost there phase. This phase requires that we turn on our car engines (if we had turned them off while waiting), get our acts together and realize that rest is now momentary.
The Green Light
Green as a colour is clearly visible, having a medium wavelength of 575-500 nm. It is a cool colour, the colour of grass, soothing to the nerves. It signifies peace and safety and hence it is used in the traffic lights to indicate that it is safe to move.
Relation to human life
The green light when displayed on the traffic signal indicates that the waiting period is over, that you are free to move. This is the breakthrough you have always wanted, the promotion you have always prayed for the life you have always dreamt of having.
The only thing to do as the green light comes is to move on. This is the moment you have been waiting for, so give it all your shot. Do not let the agonies of the waiting period stop from you moving on. But rather wipe your windshield as you focus on the journey ahead of you now and keep up the hope till you get to your final destination.
Points to Note
- Like the traffic signals, there is a particular amount of time allotted to each colour, so you have to learn to maximize every opportunity that comes.
- It is possible to actually wait in the state of rest longer than what is expected. Just like the physical road signal, you might come to a state of rest but due to many vehicles in front of you, might see the red light change to green but on getting to the traffic signal, it changes back to red meaning that you have to go back to a state of rest again. You might experience a breakthrough but it might be momentary just like moving from the back of many vehicles to the front of the traffic signal only to still be held back.
- It is also possible not to experience a stop at some particular point in life where others have experienced same. It might be that you came at the nick of time just before the green sign turns back red.
- Everyone operates in their own time zone, some are faster than others, some might move beyond the traffic light ahead of you but still experience a flat tyre after few minutes of exiting the traffic signal. So you must learn that even though your situation seems similar, your own case is peculiar and should be seen as such. Dont give room to despair but embrace the fact that your time is not here yet.
- Be patient, great things take time.
Image sources
Pixabay
Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope this inspires someone.