YESTERDAY afternoon, while at the bank, I
met a Maths lecturer from the university (whom I taught with for two
semesters).
I heard from other peers that he was
leaving the university to attend to his own projects back home in the San Kamap
province (Bougainville).
“You’re leaving?” I asked.
“Yes. I want to move out before
anything bad happens. Too many lecturers are falling down … you know, from too
much stress, I guess,” he said.
Last week, on Jan 2, I had a tooth
extracted, the second in 14 years.
I was surprised when I went to the
dentistry section to see a girl of five who was there to have her tooth looked
at (possibly to be extracted too). She was there with her mother (in her late
20s) who wanted hers extracted.
Before I went there, I was informed
the night before that the younger brother of a colleague, a teenager, had one
of his taken out some months ago.
“Young people are eating the wrong
stuff today, hence the need for early extraction,” a colleague said.
Over the past few weeks, I also
noticed ads/news on young people appealing for funds to seek an operation out
of the country.
Of course, in many cases, the
medical problems may be hereditary – something that they have no concern over.
However, I am sure, in some cases
the problems were brought on to people by their own careless living – not being
careful on what they eat, drink, etc as well as not getting enough rest and
exercise. (Careless living proves expensive in the long run – if not to you, it
will be to your family!)
And then, there are those who are
stressed because of other people’s carelessness – that is unfortunate, but that
happens too.
What I am saying is – TAKE CARE OF
YOUR BODIES, watch what you eat, drink and get enough rest and exercise.
For some of us, our bodies (and
psychological make-up) are more vulnerable than others because we are “wired
up” differently.
We cannot do what everybody is
doing.
(I had a student who had a medical
problem but tried to do everything that his peers in the police force were
doing. As a result, he got sicker.)
Let us learn and live longer and add
value to our families, communities and country.
With that, I wish you all a nice
weekend.
Stay fit, Stay safe, Be creative.
Bon week-end!
