The Tao of DB2 - Part 14: A Short Lesson on Wisdom

After a long day of dealing with problems the DBA and his intern were readying themselves to head home for the evening. The mentor glanced over at his trainee and saw that something was troubling him.

"You seem to be troubled," noted the DBA.

“I guess so," replied the intern. "We did a lot today, but a lot of our time was consumed answering what seemed to be the same, or at least similar, questions over and over. Surely it must be annoying to you to answer the same question multiple times a day?”

“Hmmm,” said the Taoist DBA, “how many times have I answered that?”

The lesson here is that every DBA must be ready to assist without wanting to bask in glory. Solving problems is more important than who caused them, and even who solved them.

"Remember always the reason we are here," replied the mentor.

"Not everybody has had the same access to the information that we as DBAs have. That can mean that sometimes you will have to explain things that you probably have explained many times before. This is not a bad thing. What is worse is to not even be asked!" said the DBA.

"Again, the words of Lao Tzu can help. He teaches us..."

"So I am a sage?" questioned the intern.

"That you have to ask tells you that no, you are not yet a sage," replied his mentor. "But keep learning and you may yet be able to act as a sage soon..."