Okay, my Heroes, I know you’ve been where I’m going to take you, today. Picture this (or your own version): Trying to get ahead of the chaos by cooking three (simple) meals at once for the week (well, one is for a birthday potluck, but I digress….and this attempt is a rarity for me). At the same time, unpacking groceries and checking on the load of laundry I put in earlier. Chopping tomatoes for a salad, two fly out hitting the floor with a great big SPLAT. Tomato guts are everywhere and I’m starting to mutter to myself, ‘Really? Like I have time for this right now! Argh!’ as I get down on my knees to wipe up the SPLAT.
As I’m wiping, I’m noticing that there’s quite a bit of water on the floor. I’d been slipping on my kitchen mat earlier, but thought it was the rain water from my shoes. That would have been far better, but no. I followed the water, under all of my kitchen mats, inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink, and there, beneath the sink lying in wait for just the right time, was a mini-kitchen flood. Grab the newly washed towels and sop up the mess to assess (and fix) the problem. The problem. It was a tiny rubber washer inside the nozzle head which had come loose. Tiny. Tiny problem. BIG mess. Get my drift?
TWO lessons LEPT out at me….no, they went SPLAT right before my eyes:
SPLAT= Stop, Please Look At This!!!
My tomatoes were telling me to stop (before I slipped one more time and fell on my…..). What seemed like a mere annoyance actually caused me to STOP what I was doing….ALL of it, and pay attention to the more important problem at hand.
How many times a DAY does this happen to you? How many times do we NEED to be saying SPLAT!? Our children do this. “Mommy…..mommy….mommy…” then SPLAT. Something happens and in a huff, we reluctantly stop what we are doing to see what’s going on. More often than at least I’d like to admit, my Heroes, it’s not what caused the SPLAT, it’s what I need to be doing because of the SPLAT that is important. Sometimes, all my child wanted was to give me a hug and tell me, “I love you.” At which point I feel like the squashed tomato guts for even getting huffy in the first place.
There are MANY examples, my Heroes, of these SPLAT moments and they so often come at the most (seemingly) inopportune times, or in the worst of places. Now, however, I invite you to be grateful for those SPLAT moments in your lives, my Heroes. Embrace the SPLATs and see the blessings they can actually bring.
The second lesson, my Heroes, also brings a plethora of examples in our lives: Sometimes, actually, probably too many times, a BIG mess leads us to believe there is a BIG problem; however the problem is likely tiny. The result of IGNORING the problem is what creates the BIG mess. You’re nodding your proverbial head now, aren’t you? The examples are flooding in…..So what can we do? Especially if we don’t really know there is a problem to begin with, or we don’t recognize the signs quickly enough before SPLAT happens.
We can be a STAR: Stop, Take a breath, And, Relax….Remember the SPLAT. Stop long enough to assess the situation before the panic attack hits and all of your plans start flying out the window (metaphorically or literally). Stop long enough to see how tiny the problem really is, then appreciate the SPLAT for saving you from an EVEN BIGGER mess.
My Heroes, we’d LOVE to hear YOUR SPLAT stories. Will you share them with us? Tell us about a time when an ‘annoyance’ caused you to SPLAT….to stop, or maybe even saved your life? It’s happened. Look deep, for often we don’t realize that a SPLAT was what kept us from making an even bigger mistake, or causing more damage, or…..you get the picture, my Heroes.
Remember: Be grateful for the SPLAT moments, Heroes. Be grateful for the tiny problems that can be easily fixed (often) when we STOP, even for a moment.
Looking forward to your SPLAT moments,
Lora Ackermann
SPLAT Hero Trainer
As I’m wiping, I’m noticing that there’s quite a bit of water on the floor. I’d been slipping on my kitchen mat earlier, but thought it was the rain water from my shoes. That would have been far better, but no. I followed the water, under all of my kitchen mats, inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink, and there, beneath the sink lying in wait for just the right time, was a mini-kitchen flood. Grab the newly washed towels and sop up the mess to assess (and fix) the problem. The problem. It was a tiny rubber washer inside the nozzle head which had come loose. Tiny. Tiny problem. BIG mess. Get my drift?
TWO lessons LEPT out at me….no, they went SPLAT right before my eyes:
SPLAT= Stop, Please Look At This!!!
My tomatoes were telling me to stop (before I slipped one more time and fell on my…..). What seemed like a mere annoyance actually caused me to STOP what I was doing….ALL of it, and pay attention to the more important problem at hand.
How many times a DAY does this happen to you? How many times do we NEED to be saying SPLAT!? Our children do this. “Mommy…..mommy….mommy…” then SPLAT. Something happens and in a huff, we reluctantly stop what we are doing to see what’s going on. More often than at least I’d like to admit, my Heroes, it’s not what caused the SPLAT, it’s what I need to be doing because of the SPLAT that is important. Sometimes, all my child wanted was to give me a hug and tell me, “I love you.” At which point I feel like the squashed tomato guts for even getting huffy in the first place.
There are MANY examples, my Heroes, of these SPLAT moments and they so often come at the most (seemingly) inopportune times, or in the worst of places. Now, however, I invite you to be grateful for those SPLAT moments in your lives, my Heroes. Embrace the SPLATs and see the blessings they can actually bring.
The second lesson, my Heroes, also brings a plethora of examples in our lives: Sometimes, actually, probably too many times, a BIG mess leads us to believe there is a BIG problem; however the problem is likely tiny. The result of IGNORING the problem is what creates the BIG mess. You’re nodding your proverbial head now, aren’t you? The examples are flooding in…..So what can we do? Especially if we don’t really know there is a problem to begin with, or we don’t recognize the signs quickly enough before SPLAT happens.
We can be a STAR: Stop, Take a breath, And, Relax….Remember the SPLAT. Stop long enough to assess the situation before the panic attack hits and all of your plans start flying out the window (metaphorically or literally). Stop long enough to see how tiny the problem really is, then appreciate the SPLAT for saving you from an EVEN BIGGER mess.
My Heroes, we’d LOVE to hear YOUR SPLAT stories. Will you share them with us? Tell us about a time when an ‘annoyance’ caused you to SPLAT….to stop, or maybe even saved your life? It’s happened. Look deep, for often we don’t realize that a SPLAT was what kept us from making an even bigger mistake, or causing more damage, or…..you get the picture, my Heroes.
Remember: Be grateful for the SPLAT moments, Heroes. Be grateful for the tiny problems that can be easily fixed (often) when we STOP, even for a moment.
Looking forward to your SPLAT moments,
Lora Ackermann
SPLAT Hero Trainer