Following the rules

No Words

Red means STOP

That does not mean slow the car you are driving,

or start walking out into the crosswalk.

Yellow means Caution

This traffic light color means take care, as you move through this particular intersection.

Green means GO

When the light is green you are allowed to pass on through;

others going a different direction must wait.

Rules generally consist of words. But anyone who drives for a time comes to obey traffic light rules without having to use words. We do it.

Or not. There are times when we choose not to obey the rules, sometimes after conscious thought, or sometimes spontaneously and wordlessly.

Unless we get careless or forget. Breaking the rules is not always consciously done. No words go on in our heads. Sometimes we are distracted. Sometimes we are trying to do too many things at once. Sometimes we are plain forgetful.

Using colors to symbolize rules shortens the time to obedience. The color and the rule become "paired" in behavioral terms. In other words, we first say to ourselves, "green means go," "yellow means caution," "red means stop." Then after a time the words go away and the behavior becomes mostly automatically. This is known as conditioning.

Ask yourself this. Am I behaving too obediently? Have I been conditioned to obey every rule without question? Should I examine whether I have retained the words behind the rules? Am I an automaton moving through life's intersections middlessly? Or am I living mindfully, consciously and thoughtfully.

Am I still compatible with the rules that I am automatically obeying? Have I forgotten the words to important rules, disobeying to my detriment? Am I living an unexamined life?

What is the rule here?

Myth is the public dream, and dream is the private myth. - Joseph Campbell

My topical post today at South by Southwest is about Congress and domestic spending .
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