SPIRITUAL TIDBITS

Spiritual Tidbits are bits of wisdom from Master Rose.

A new tidbit is posted on the first of every month.​

 

October 2025

Just a Little Food for Thought

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A student recently asked me, “What does a God Realized person think about?” Well, I can’t speak for every God Realized person, but I can share some of the things I think about as a student of life, creation, and the human mind. I am fascinated by everything I see, experience, and view it all as delicious food for thought. Here is a little tidbit:

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     I was in Barnes and Noble, with my service dog, Daisy. Daisy was in a little doggie cart that I pulled behind me as I strolled leisurely up and down the aisles of books. It was a weekend, so the store was quite busy. Conversations were in hushed tones, and most shoppers moved slowly, sporting an air of reverence for the many beautiful books.

 

     I was in that amazing contemplative space, which always descends upon me when I am in the company of so many books, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and found myself looking into the eyes of a young blonde girl with an unusual look on her face. She said something to me, but the only words I could make out due to my deafness issues were “Dragging” and “Down “. I looked down at Daisy’s cart, thinking she was telling me that the wheels were dragging something along. I didn’t see anything. I looked back up into her eyes, and she seemed slightly annoyed as she spoke louder and clearer. She said, “You have toilet paper dragging down the back of your pants.” I reached behind me and sure enough, there was about 18 inches of toilet paper hanging out of my pants, forming a long paper tail. The girl then turned on her heel and quickly walked away as I offered a feeble, “Thank you” and began to stuff the paper inside my pants, for lack of a better place to put it. My mind assessed the situation, scrolling for the proper behavioral response. Should I feel embarrassed? Should I run out of the store in shame? What would be best for my personal survival? The answer came out as a hardy burst of laughter.

 

     Twenty-five minutes earlier, I had entered the store and visited the ladies’ room. Now, as all women know, when you approach the toilet in the ladies’ room, you have one of two choices – hover or sit. If you choose to sit, proper hygiene dictates that you line the toilet seat with toilet paper. I was feeling a little lightheaded from the extreme heat I had encountered outside, so I chose to sit. I suppose that when I later stood up and pulled up my pants, I inadvertently snagged the toilet paper from the seat and then paraded it throughout the store.

 

     A few minutes after my interaction with the girl, a friend called me on my cell phone, and I continued laughing as I relayed what had happened. He said, “Oh, this means you are becoming an old lady.” I told him that the dragging toilet paper wasn’t an indicator of old age; the indicator was that I had reached an age where one just accepted these things with grace. I didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed, just amused. I laughed out loud again when I recalled the look on the young girl’s face. I could see that she felt proud of having the courage to tell me about the toilet paper and was mentally preparing herself for a possible negative reaction from me. I wondered if she had to drum up the courage, or if it just came naturally to her - to see something was amiss and to instantly make it right. Then I wondered, since I had paraded around the store for over 20 minutes, how many other people had seen my paper tail and didn’t say anything, and I wondered why they hadn’t. Were they reluctant to embarrass me?  Or, would it have been embarrassing for them to address it? Did they fear my reaction?  Or were they just enjoying a silent laugh and wanted to keep the joke rolling? And then I wondered why our need for social acceptance is so strong that it requires courage to assist or confront another being when they don’t appear to be conforming to the social norm.

 

     Why is it that the human mind, which is capable of so many wondrous and complex accomplishments, can become completely immobilized by something as innocuous as a strip of toilet paper, which is not in its socially accepted place? Just a little food for thought!

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​Copyright©2014 by Master Rose Ashley
All rights reserved

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