[W4FHU] Think about it!

[Richard England]

A Jain version of the story of the blind men and an elephant says that six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body.
The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe. A wise man explains to them: "All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched a different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all the features you mentioned." This resolves the conflict, and is used to illustrate the principle of living in harmony with people who have different views of systems with various parts.
Regardless of that for which the story was originally intended, it certainly can be applied to the different aspects of Ham Radio. There are many things that attract people to the hobby. Some are fascinated by assembling components (building radios and designing antennas) so as to make a functioning device that will receive and/or transmit radio waves, whether close or far away. Others see Ham Radio only as means of communication with friends. Sometimes it may serve as a rallying point for social interaction with others, whether on the air or in a club. Ham Radio is often approached as a “project” from which one gets a good bit of satisfaction just from passing a test and operating a radio and then, shortly after, moving on to other projects in life. Also, it is viewed by Hams and the general public as a most valuable tool used in time of emergency to warn of impending danger. On and on the list could go as to why people become Hams.
Hams are a versatile group of people who should look into the many possibilities of interaction with others related to the wonderful world of communication and accomplishment. Whether “organized” into a club or just getting together occasionally for a “cook-out” while swapping ideas and information, Hams can find a good bit of self-satisfaction in the unique hobby that is always moving forward in knowledge and skill.

W4KRU -- Richard
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://w4fhu.org/pipermail/w4fhu_w4fhu.org/attachments/20100420/c0f9b810/attachment.html>