Sunshine yellow 15 minutes of vitamin D. Time to melt butter on raised bread not welts on skin with blisters red peeling skin. Creations continue but at what cost. Sunflowers 🌻 open with seeds to harvest good thoughts and sustenance.
Then there are those who see the yellow light as their signal to speed up! ...can’t wait for that light to turn red, we might be stuck here for a minute! ...and that’s a minute too long for too many people. 😬 I prefer “orange”. How come there’s no orange light? We don’t wanna stay stopped (for too long) and sometimes the right shade of yellow well...🧐 ... maybe we need a yellow between red and green 🤔... Thank you for this poem and summary. I’m retired for nearly 10 years and I say orange is a lovely space to reside in 😉
This poem does a great job of exploring the pressure to always be productive. I have fallen into this trap. The thing is, you can never produce enough. No matter how much time you have, there is never enough time to produce enough because enough doesn't exist, not when you are trying to meet the expectations of others. What have you done lately? That is the question on everyone's mind, including yours. I finally had to quit trying to meet the arbitrary expectations of others. I ignore the gurus selling their success formulas and refuse to read profiles of success. Their definition of success is not my definition of success. And I'm okay with my definition of success. I find that if I'm supposed to do something, the time will appear to do it if I'm open to it, if I'm not stressing over time. That includes the time to do nothing.
It is so hard to recognize the success of a life focused on eventually attaining free time. Isn’t that what we all work for all these years? Because what would we do with success if we were to attain it? Create something meaningful? Hike all day in the woods? Find joy? Seems we might be better served by taking the spoils, those yellow lights, as our life rolls by instead of waiting for those things to come to us somewhere towards the end. It’s just so hard to turn the machine off… Loved this, Franco.
If we cut the work week by several hours each year, let the economy and the work force slowly acclimate to the change. This would create more jobs, due to a 4 day work week, then a three day work week. More people working fewer hours puts everyone to work, and everyone enjoying the Sunflowers ,Mandatory time off of at least 4 days a week. Instead of practical board furniture, we would have craftsman who worked at home, because they are Artists who sell their work, extrapolate that. All that it would cost is time spent working for the pleasure work can be. I think people can be happier with less, if it means more time to enjoy time.
That's the struggle. I think you are on to something about taking those spoils while we can. I know I certainly try to do that. Thanks for this great comment.
Thanks for the reminder. The most eternal emotions I feel are when time does not dictate action. And rest is more luxurious than money or passion. The deepest ME floats to the surface. Or not til later. And both feed my young Spirit.
Well, I love this poem - it's a masterpiece in my eyes. And, guess what? at my advanced age, I STILL feel like butter spread too thin over toast. To your words below, yes and yes and yes!
"‘even bad art matters.’ If there’s one thing I want more time for, it’s to make more bad art and to consume more bad art."
A dilemma for sure. You capture it well. Not convinced bad art is a must though. Could it be that bad art is the distraction, or at least a significant one, that overwhelms space in the yellow zone? If bad art was firewalled, inhibited from polluting the landscapes of meaningful art, what then?
I’m really trying to simplify. I want more time to do what I really want to do. It isn’t easy. I’m sure this piece hits a lot of people hard. What are we living for? To enjoy life? To accomplish things? There are 100 answers.
Sunshine yellow 15 minutes of vitamin D. Time to melt butter on raised bread not welts on skin with blisters red peeling skin. Creations continue but at what cost. Sunflowers 🌻 open with seeds to harvest good thoughts and sustenance.
Thank you Richard!
I love this. Smart, and fun
Isn't it!
Then there are those who see the yellow light as their signal to speed up! ...can’t wait for that light to turn red, we might be stuck here for a minute! ...and that’s a minute too long for too many people. 😬 I prefer “orange”. How come there’s no orange light? We don’t wanna stay stopped (for too long) and sometimes the right shade of yellow well...🧐 ... maybe we need a yellow between red and green 🤔... Thank you for this poem and summary. I’m retired for nearly 10 years and I say orange is a lovely space to reside in 😉
Orange sounds pretty great too. Enjoy that Orange time, Kat :)
This poem does a great job of exploring the pressure to always be productive. I have fallen into this trap. The thing is, you can never produce enough. No matter how much time you have, there is never enough time to produce enough because enough doesn't exist, not when you are trying to meet the expectations of others. What have you done lately? That is the question on everyone's mind, including yours. I finally had to quit trying to meet the arbitrary expectations of others. I ignore the gurus selling their success formulas and refuse to read profiles of success. Their definition of success is not my definition of success. And I'm okay with my definition of success. I find that if I'm supposed to do something, the time will appear to do it if I'm open to it, if I'm not stressing over time. That includes the time to do nothing.
Soooo true, you can never produce enough. And the what have we done lately philosophy is really problematic. Great follow up insights, KC. Thank you!
It is so hard to recognize the success of a life focused on eventually attaining free time. Isn’t that what we all work for all these years? Because what would we do with success if we were to attain it? Create something meaningful? Hike all day in the woods? Find joy? Seems we might be better served by taking the spoils, those yellow lights, as our life rolls by instead of waiting for those things to come to us somewhere towards the end. It’s just so hard to turn the machine off… Loved this, Franco.
If we cut the work week by several hours each year, let the economy and the work force slowly acclimate to the change. This would create more jobs, due to a 4 day work week, then a three day work week. More people working fewer hours puts everyone to work, and everyone enjoying the Sunflowers ,Mandatory time off of at least 4 days a week. Instead of practical board furniture, we would have craftsman who worked at home, because they are Artists who sell their work, extrapolate that. All that it would cost is time spent working for the pleasure work can be. I think people can be happier with less, if it means more time to enjoy time.
I wish it could be that way. Maybe someday it all will change.
That's the struggle. I think you are on to something about taking those spoils while we can. I know I certainly try to do that. Thanks for this great comment.
Well you did it, stole the words right out of my brain!!!!!
Thank you, GS
When even to relax becomes a paralysis of decisions…
It's a struggle lol
"I want endless yellow!
I can be myself in yellow
I can discover myself in yellow
I can make things up in that
so-slow-slow-mo-time-doesn’t-even-go-mode
when people can breathe..."
71 and retired; I live in yellow and it's freeing in ways I've never dreamed.
The fact that I read Garbage Notes is the proof..endless Mellow Yellow..."Quite Rightly..."
https://youtu.be/74nJCrDtqWU?si=WdRKyCfVLqXf18Gn
Enjoy that yellow, brother!
Thanks for the reminder. The most eternal emotions I feel are when time does not dictate action. And rest is more luxurious than money or passion. The deepest ME floats to the surface. Or not til later. And both feed my young Spirit.
That's beautiful, Jason. Thank you.
this poem made me feel so much LONGING. i am always striving to do less, to get back to basics, to just be.
Glad it resonated with you, Elizabeth. Thank you.
Well, I love this poem - it's a masterpiece in my eyes. And, guess what? at my advanced age, I STILL feel like butter spread too thin over toast. To your words below, yes and yes and yes!
"‘even bad art matters.’ If there’s one thing I want more time for, it’s to make more bad art and to consume more bad art."
❤️❤️ thank you so much, Jeni. This comment means a lot.
This one got me, Franco!
I related to far more than I would’ve liked to. Well said, sir. :)
Thank you, Michael. Glad it moved you.
Cannot count the number of times I've quoted that Bilbo line. Here's to more yellow days!
:) many great lines from those books.
A dilemma for sure. You capture it well. Not convinced bad art is a must though. Could it be that bad art is the distraction, or at least a significant one, that overwhelms space in the yellow zone? If bad art was firewalled, inhibited from polluting the landscapes of meaningful art, what then?
All interesting things to think about. Thank you, Gemma.
Yes! It is the flaws that personalize, and distinguishes the work, as only that particular Artist can forgive.
The flaws do make it personal. We said, Bliss. :)
Yellow has become my favorite color 💛 time has become my favorite pass time 😊
Beautiful, Lisa 😊
I’m really trying to simplify. I want more time to do what I really want to do. It isn’t easy. I’m sure this piece hits a lot of people hard. What are we living for? To enjoy life? To accomplish things? There are 100 answers.
Yes exactly, that's the quality: what are we living for. Thank you Rod.