Found in “NLP (Neuro‑Linguistic Programming) at Work”, by Sue Knight (no further attribution)
Decide what you think of this small story. Some suggestions follow…
Many years ago, there was a sailor who had sailed to many different countries around the world. He had been to many places and seen many different sights. One day, as he was sailing across the seas, he came upon a small island and decided to rest there for a while. He moored his boat on the shore and began to look around. All around the island was a beautiful white sandy beach, and behind the beach was dense tropical jungle. All was quiet until…
He thought he could hear a faint noise in the distance and tilted his head to listen. He sensed it came from within the jungle and walked closer. Sure enough, once again he heard this faint noise in the background. He started to hack his way through the foliage in order to make a pathway. The more he moved inland, the louder the noise became. He continued to cut his way through until eventually he reached a clearing, and there in the middle of the clearing he saw an old man sitting cross‑legged on the ground.
The old man had his eyes closed and was chanting softly: “Mo, Mo, Mo,” in long, gentle tones. The sailor stood and watched and listened. “Mo, Mo, Mo,” continued the old man. Eventually, the sailor approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. The old man turned slowly around and smiled.
“Excuse me,” said the sailor, “I think you have made a mistake. I think you should be saying ‘Om, Om, Om.’”
“Oh,” said the old man, smiling. “Thank you so much.” And he began to chant, “Om, Om, Om.”
The sailor felt pleased with himself and made his way back to his boat. He launched his boat again and began to sail away, and when he had sailed for a while, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, surprised to see the old man, who said, “Forgive me for interrupting your journey. Could you please remind me what the chant should be?”
The sailor, in a state of shock and surprise, accidentally said, “Mo, Mo, Mo.”
“Thank you so much,” said the old man, and walked back across the water to the island.
The End.
What is the meaning of this story? Here are some thoughts:
The sailor’s pride collapses when the old man walks across the water to ask for help.
Did the sailor think he was more “spiritual” than the old man?
Rightness or wrongness—may not matter too much.
Don’t worry too much about how things should be.
Why judge the spiritual practices of others?
Appearances may not tell the whole story.
The Divine often appears in simple form.
Did the sailor answer too quickly?
There may be angels among us.
The “teacher” is not the sailor.
Did you detect any humility?
Expertise can be an illusion.
Appearance may deceive.
(If you wish, you may send additional thoughts and comments by email to fredmonroe@aol.com. I would like to post them below.)
03/15/26
JE - I’ve always thought that we move through this life’s journey together… sometimes as teachers and other times as students.