A Marsha Summers Blog

Recently, I was on a road trip and decided to go to a fast food drive in to get coffee and breakfast.

I ordered at the window and was told the total.  I pulled forward to the pick up and pay window and was told that it was no charge.   The previous car had taken care of the amount. It was not a fancy vehicle but a work truck from a company.

I was amazed and delighted – that impulsive gesture by a fellow traveler made my day which was just beginning seem brighter & was in a way a renewal of faith in my fellow beings – and I instantly knew that I would at some time in the future do the same thing. For the first time I really appreciated the saying which has become increasingly popular of late which is to “pay it forward”.

This was wonderful to ponder in light of what we study. 

In the first place, it’s a nudge to pass on a kindness and consideration.  It really didn’t cost that much but it was a powerful statement toward my fellow man—even if I’ve never met them. 

Another thing to ponder is that whenever I do something for someone, I’m looking for the thank you.  In this case, I’ve relieved of that “should” that others must express their gratitude to me.

And lastly, as I was growing up and someone asked me to dinner, it was not written down anywhere, but I was expected to reciprocate by asking them to a meal at my home.

I think saying thank you is very valuable and is good manners.  If I say thank you, the person is more likely to extend more kindnesses.

So as we go through our day, each expression can be looked at individually.  I am just delighted to take this momentary event and ponder what it had to teach me.

One of my friends wrote this to me in response:

Hi Marsha,

I really like this. I love you sharing your experiences and giving thoughts for the reader to ponder.

What’s great about someone doing something kind in that situation is that we never know who did that for us. We have no idea what they look like, gender, race, religion, their politics, etc. It’s like what we, as blind people, experience when we interact with the public and when they are helpful or show kindness. We don’t know what they look like, we judge them by the content of their character. Paying it forward seems to be a similar lesson for people with sight.

Thank you for sharing.

Love, Amanda

After the hurricane Ian resulted in a flood in my community, I lived in a 16 ft. camper in my driveway with the bare necessities.

After 9 months of renovations, with the kitchen finally workable, I was able to get a plate (not paper) from the cabinet, heat a frozen chicken sandwich in the microwave (without the breaker going off), get a knife (not plastic) to cut the sandwich, get a true glass from the cabinet (no flimsy plastic) and finally pour fresh milk from a half gallon container and carry these to a real desk and continue my work – all the while realizing that these simple things had been denied me for the preceding months.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make us appreciate the more complete picture and being without for a long period of time can make us realize all the daily activities and conveniences we take for granted.

So for a while we’ll be filled with gratitude and then we’ll forget. 

One day Tidbit, our precious cat, discovered the front door open and as cats are known to be curious, he went outside to explore; but there was terrible noises of saws and lawn mowers that scared him so he ran for protection through lattice work under the porch.

As luck would have it, night fell and Tidbit was unable to sound his predicament. In the morning we heard his pitiful meows and discovered him under the wood porch.

We tried to call him out; but he was steeped in fear perhaps even unable to find where he entered.  We made a hole in the lattice work so he could see how to get out; but our effort was to no avail.  Next we tried food and water outside the hole; but all we got was more plaintiff cries.

We sat on the porch in different areas and always the meows were directly beneath us. He wanted to be with us, but didn’t know how to free himself.

Again we went to the hole and after a time, he poked his head out and even came out completely; but we couldn’t pick him up because he can’t stand being held so now he was really in an impossible situation. He hated the leaves and dirt on his paws and who knows what else; but he also couldn’t be saved because he couldn’t stand being carried!

My teacher suggested somewhere in the 48 tapes that we write parables so that we could understand other stories and allegories that have been passed down through the ages like fairy tales and Aesop’s fables. So I realized that Tidbit’s dilemma was a beautiful demonstration of how we wrap ourselves in a self-made prison.

If we work the teaching ideas, it is possible that we may find ourselves trapped in our minds with assumptions, opinions, conclusions and misinformation that we are unable to question and challenge!

I have on occasion thought about each person in my world.

I might see that they have more in intelligence (Well, I think that) or they might be able to see, or they might be able to drive a car and go where they want when they want, or they might have more education such as college, or they might play piano or sing better than me (Well, I think that too when I compare) or I think they have a happier marriage or they’re alone and don’t have to please or answer to a spouse.

If I really delve into this little idea, I don’t really know the childhood they had—even if they give it to me in great detail.  I don’t know what they struggle with in all the areas of life or what’s pervading their minds or what physical pain they either have had are having or will have. 

When I compare, I’m only looking at what I think they have that I don’t have; and I discount or don’t know the hardships they have had or are having.

It all comes down to……………………………would I trade places with them?  And WITHOUT EXCEPTION, I’ve always said “NO!”   When it gets right down to the nitty gritty, I want to be just where I am – not in the past (because I’d have to do exactly what I did then because that was the only light I had at that time).  I wouldn’t want to be in the future because I wouldn’t have the wisdom of what Life is teaching me today. 

So after that little exercise; I think I could find many circumstances, people and things to be thankful for!

Yesterday I had a call from a friend of 50 years who is now 91 and bedridden. He asked me to play and sing to him. He has always been special to me because he encouraged my career in music. But even more special, we began the 48 Teaching tapes together many years ago. (You can find them on this website.)

So I played and sang Danny Boy in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, which is coming soon. He said it made him cry. I asked, “Bad cry or good cry?” He said, “Good cry.” So I sang a myriad of songs and styles for which he was very thankful. An idea from the Teachings came to mind about “being of service.” 

I presented the question, “What does being of service mean to you?” to other people I knew in the Teaching. One said that doing the dishes and cleaning the house was a way of being of service, though it probably isn’t normally thought of that way.

Another said calling and listening to someone who lives alone is being of service. 

Another said saying “No” can be of service. You can ponder on that one because it seems like it could never be considered as a service; however, if someone asks me for money over and over but is quite capable of working and earning a living, it may be of service to say no. It increases their necessity to be responsible for themselves.

Some have the ability to find humor in just about every situation. So, to me, they are being of service by giving me the option of seeing that everything might not be as serious as I am seeing it.

I see watering and fertilizing my garden and caring for my cat as being of service. The list is as long as you care to explore in your daily activities.

The thought popped up, “What’s the benefit to me?”

I’ve had people tell me that they like to “help” people. Dr. Bob distinguished between helping and “making a little contribution,” another way of saying “being of service.” He pointed out that in order to “help,” one has to see oneself as being elevated above the other. “Helping” gives a good feeling, but isn’t that temporary?

As I’ve studied the Teachings, I have found that being of service gets my attention directed outward. 

When my attention is directed outward, I’m not concentrating on what I don’t have – like more money or a better mate or a different car or more attention and approval, thinking I would be satisfied and permanently happy if I had all I wanted.

One can ask self, “What more do I want or need?” Think… possessions, titles, fulfillment of our desires, as well as all the other things we crave. When we center in on ourselves and what we don’t have, we entrench ourselves in depression, want, anger, frustration and many other unpleasant emotions.

How many ways can you turn your attention outward and be of service today?

Objective does not have emotions tied to it.

I was introduced to the teachings in 1975. As I studied, I came across the term “surrender” and it raised the question “What do I surrender to?” Through the years I’ve discovered that many times it’s impossible to understand the teaching idea presented until some time has passed and there’s a place or circumstance that clarifies. This school is very different from the public schools we attended wherein we read assignments, took tests and recited back the material studied to the teacher hoping for a good grade. So I learned to not make it important to understand every idea at once – to let it go for a while. There is always plenty that can be worked with during the interim.

One of the teaching cards which you can find previously presented on the blog says this: 

                         Surrender:

We cease to think we know what ought to be. 

Here’s another version:

Surrender to what is….
Surrender to what people are….
Surrender to what I am…..

Surrender our desire for certainty
Surrender the need for safety
Surrender what “I know”
Surrender what “I know is right”

Along with this, I’d like to say that there’s a certain story I love from the “Caravan of Dreams” by Idries Shah called “The Princess of the Water of Life”. You can find it on the internet.  It’s a beautiful teaching story.

The main phrase in the story is “perhaps something may come of it.” As I’ve told the story, I’ve found some who don’t know what a djinn is. It’s an Arabian mythical creature that is able to take on a human or animal shape and is mischievous.

So I have combined that phrase with “surrender” and another idea from Dr. Bob — “I live in what I radiate”  If I’m not always trying to “get something” or “make it come to me” or control people and circumstances, I can work with seeing what’s going on and what I can do.

Recently I had musicians come to my house to jam. It just seemed like fun. The jobs are few for jazz musicians; but we want to keep our “chops up” (technique), be with like-minded musicians and play the music we love following all the aloneness and separation from the pandemic.

I asked a New York jazz pianist I met recently to come play Wednesdays at my house along with an amateur drummer I had worked with for eight years.  After a year of Covid, no gigs, and moving to Florida, the NY piano player decided to learn upright bass and needed someone to play piano. That was me – yay!  Then he invited a jazz guitar player he knew which added depth to the sound.  

The drummer abruptly decided to quit because he found other interesting things to do; so I had the opportunity to “surrender” what I considered   “ought to be”. Then I remembered a really good jazz drummer from our area; and he not being busy either, acquiesced to join us. The jam just got better and better. 

Later the jazz drummer brought in a well-known bass player on Thursdays so the NY musician could stretch out on my grand.  For that day I sat back, listened and just had a grin on my face for two hours.

And so with all these changes going on, I can  say I experienced the “Something may come from it.”  The “something” could just be musicians introduced to each other or keeping the “chops up” and/or learning from each other. So if we get a gig all the better; but if not, we had the creative endeavor and enjoyment of each other and the music.  

We can make a purpose to radiate out a good mood and perhaps some skill we’ve developed and use it in service to the community and others. Then we can watch, observe and see “what something can come from it” – could be something quite amazing, be to our advantage and also quite delightful in the process.  Happy comes in moments — it’s a temporary state of being that we can create through our own efforts.