empowerment & inspiration ... all for you
january 29, 2016

inspiration station

so what's the emergency?

On a December trek to Nicaragua, our baseball group had a police escort everywhere we ventured. In front of our two shuttle vans, a small truck identified as 'POLICIA NACIONALE' blared its siren, blinked its flashers and lit its headlights, while two of four police officers donning red berets hung out of the back windows waving red lighted sticks at other vehicles, to allow us through. It was quite the spectacle - and quite comical.

For four days, those police officers sped us through traffic and busy intersections, as we nauseatingly weaved in and out of lanes. Yet there was no emergency; just an important man (our host, Dennis Martinez, former MLB pitcher), in his home country of Nicaragua not wishing for his guests to be inconvenienced by traffic; and, the added bonus of law enforcement protection in a third world country.

The scenario created such a sense of emergency, such a panic, and quite the drama. Each ride felt as if we were in a Hollywood chase scene!

Can you think of a time when you created a sense of emergency, panic, drama ... when there was actually none? Mountains out of molehills? [trivial example - my Italian mother exclaiming after we had finished eating dinner: "OH NO!!! I FORGOT THE ROLLS IN THE OVEN!!!" Scared us to death.] A time when you made a big deal out of nothing? Made something trivial into an emergency? Blared your siren? And in the process, caused yourself unnecessary stress, grief or discomfort? Or scared someone else?

On vacation last year, a family member reacted to almost EVERYTHING (and I mean, every. trivial. thing.) as if it were a huge emergency. Inhales!! Exhales!! Exclamation points!! Oh no's!! and OMGs!! I told her she was going to give herself high blood pressure and a heart attack if she didn't calm down. (Plus, she kept scaring us every time we heard a dramatic inhale.)

So ... what's the emergency???

If there is none, slow down, find your breath, sit in your own traffic if you have to. Turn off your lights, flashers and sirens. All is C.A.L.M.

There's nothing to see here, people - move along.

What are your brief thoughts on today's topic?

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snippeteer backtalk

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CHERYL

"I always receive, and read with pleasure, your SNIPPETS column." :-D

~ Allesia in Rome Italy

thoughts on:

don't ask for things you don't want

(click link if you missed it)

"I used to do this all the time!!! Drove my mom, then my husband, crazy! I think it was more of a reaffirmation that I was making a good choice ... or that I did something to be proud of. When I decided that the opinion which mattered the most was my own, I stopped asking. But now I'm back to asking ... my 13-year old daughter, who knows all! ;) Smile."

Meg in Yardley, PA

thoughts on:

help people feel special

(click link if you missed it)

"I completely agree with your article. Too many times in today's world, we sit, or stand, with our focus fully on our phones that we don't even notice the things and people around us. I took my car to the emissions test today and there was a young man working the machine testing the cars. I used the two minutes it took to test the car to ask the young man how his day was. He smiled and we chatted, and when he finished the test he told me to be safe this weekend; I told him the same and said to stay warm. He laughed and said, "Thanks ma'am, I'll try!" Easy enough and took all of two minutes!"

~ Stephanie in MD

prayer flares

FOR Bill, 57, (MD) in hospice care with cancer

FOR Sam, 88, (MD) under hospice care with respiratory ailments

FOR Patty (MD) feeling sad after losing her pooch Lizzie to illness

FOR Mamma Gina, 82 (MD) in rehab recovering from spinal surgery

good to giggle

ciao ...

until you snippet again

suzanne molino singleton

creator of SNIPPETS

(since 2006)

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An assortment of inspirational snippets to encourage, empower, validate and motivate, inspired by Suzanne's countless bike rides through scenic Baltimore County, Maryland and along Florida's Gulf beaches. Whether you're a cyclist or not, you'll latch onto these wise words of inspiration to guide you while pedaling up and down life's hills.