Lessons Learnt In (Re)Morse Code
Back when the telegraph was the fastest
method of long distance communication, a young man
applied for a job as a Morse code operator.
Answering an advertisement in the newspaper, he went
to the office address listed. He entered a large,
busy office filled with noise and clatter including
the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign
on the receptionist's counter instructed job applicants
to fill out a form and wait until summoned to enter
the Manager's office.
The
young man filled out his form and sat down with the
seven other applicants in the waiting area. After
a few minutes, he stood up, crossed the room to the
of the manager's office and walked right in. Naturally,
the other applicants perked up, wondering what was
going on. They muttered among themselves that they
hadn't heard any summons yet. They assumed that the
young man who had gone into the office had made a
mistake, and he would be ineligible.
Within a few minutes, however the manager escorted
the young man out of the office and said to the other
applicants, "Gentleman,
thank you very much/or coming but the job has been
filled."
The other applicants began grumbling to each other,
and one spoke up saying, "Wait
a minute, I don't understand! He was the last to come
in, and we never got a chance to be interviewed. Yet
he got the job. That's not fair!"
The manager said, "I'm
sorry, but all the time you've been sitting here,
the telegraph has been ticking out the following message
in Morse code: 'If you understand this message, then
come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard
it or understood it. This young man did. The job is
his."
Life has its own subtle ways of whispering wisdom,
pre-empting opportunities, echoing answers, directing
courses. Who said, "The
world outside is tough". It is only challenging.
Live in awareness, else we will miss it all.
( from Kan Sai Light, volume 111,
July October 2003)