How Geriatric Pregnancy Gave Me an Epiphany.
I thought hard on the title of this piece and decided to go with this. You would know why in a few seconds so stick with me. Seeing the story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson reminded me of the reality we live in. The story goes thus:
Both men went camping and as night came, they set up their tent and fell asleep. Some hours later, Holmes woke Dr. Watson up and said “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”
Annoyed at being woken up, Watson muttered, “I see millions of stars.”
Holmes was unimpressed and asked, “What does that tell you?”
Watson thought. “What the heck is this fellow up to at this hour?” And replied using all his brain.
“Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.
Time-wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three.
Theologically, it’s evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?”
By now, Holmes was truly annoyed by Watson’s lengthy reply. He said “It means only one thing to me. Someone has stolen our tent“.
When I read the response, I couldn’t help but giggle to myself on how accurate the scenario was.
Let me share a recent experience. I visited a family friend with my mum and sister during the weekend. The lady turned to me while in a discussion and asked “Doctor, what is the term you use for a pregnancy where the woman is over 35 years?”
I paused. For the longest time, I went blank and was embarrassed. All the terms my brain kept bringing up were complex. Now that I think back, it’s hilarious to remember how ‘geriatric’ pregnancy was nowhere to be found considering how I had learned about it before. There’s also a fair chance that I forgot as I haven’t been a model student these past few weeks.
Most students can relate to this. I’ve lost count of the number of times my colleagues and I were asked questions during a round and then the consultant gives a rather simple answer that leaves us embarrassed.
The truth is we are prone to overthink and pay little attention to the obvious.
Habits, Ideas, and Everything in between.
Most times, the eureka moment is a simple response. Blessing Abeng shared a story about a cleaner. The lady asked questions about what she could do to render better services. The answer was so simple, “Don’t forget to clean the lights too!” That brightened her service.
A habit I had overlooked for a while was writing prompts. Reviving it has been helpful to remember what needs to be one or what I can work on.
Dear friends, let’s not ignore the ideas, solutions, or habits that feel simplistic. An epiphany that brings value could just be staring right at you.
