Proceed (with caution!): what to do when caught between stop and go

From the day I received my license and started (officially) driving the mean streets of Mineral Wells, Texas and beyond, I found that one of the most uncomfortable quandaries a driver faces is the yellow caution light. Do you start to stop, gun it, just keep going as you were, coast through the intersection, or freak out and do all the above at the same time?

I have lately come to believe that you can learn a good deal about yourself and those around you by observing one’s behavior and tendencies when faced with the cursed yellow light that means neither “giddyup” nor “whoa!”

Let’s talk about what the yellow light is not:

• The yellow light is not a green light. It is not meant to be treated as such. It is not meant to say, “As you were.”
• The yellow light is not a red light. It does not mean slam on the brakes and skid to a stop, slide 10 feet into the intersection, and throw it in reverse to back into a “safe” position.
• The yellow light is not a checkered flag. It does not mean. “Gun it, you fool! The race is on.”
• The yellow light is not nothing. It serves a purpose.

Let’s talk about what the yellow light is:

• The yellow light is between the green and red, because it signifies an impending change in the instructions to motorists regarding that intersection. It is transitional.
• The yellow light is a warning that proceedings are about to halt.
• The yellow light is an opportunity. It buys you time to assess your progress, speed, surroundings, and decide whether you can make it safely to the other side.
• The yellow light is an offering. It is saying, “Go ahead. Proceed. With caution!”

Let’s talk about the metaphor looming before us as a cautionary tale:

You are faced with a life decision: Maybe it is relational, work related, physical, or even spiritual. There is neither a green light urging, “Go for it,” nor is there a red light screaming, “Don’t do it!”

Should you stay or should you go? It is not black. It is not white. It is not green or red. The thing is lit up in that annoyingly ambiguous, not-very-instructive, use-your-best-judgment yellow.

• Some treat such moments with reckless abandon. They see a checkered flag in their fevered brains and step on it, man. Caution to the wind!
• Others treat every such decision as a red light. They are scared. What if it doesn’t work out? What if the worst happens? I am safer if I just slam on the brakes and stay on the side of the intersection I am sure of...or at least familiar with. The road ahead looks scary. What if I crash? And burn?
• The wise ones weigh the facts, the flow of traffic, the benefits of proceeding, the wisdom of stopping and waiting. They either proceed with caution or they slow their roll, come to a stop, and take a breath, waiting for a green light. Maybe it is a green light that will never come. But that is the chance they are willing to take, because they have erred on the side of caution.

Proceed with caution. Err on the side of caution. Don’t be reckless. But don’t be yellow, either.

Got a thought on this analogous metaphorical mess I just made? The light is green. The comment section awaits. Go...