Learning and unlearning...

The dependency on antibiotics has grown over the years so much that most people do not feel comfortable unless they are prescribed these medications.

No one has the patience or the strength to go through the normal period that would take to recovery. The impatience has had a price to pay as it has been noted that many deaths took place because the antibiotics was not effective enough.

The issue is a global challenge, and Oman will be hosting a global conference on antimicrobial resistance this month. The trends in antibiotics consumption has been looked upon by experts across the globe and now the decision-makers would also be part of the awareness process. In November, the Sultanate of Oman will be hosting a high-level global conference on antimicrobial resistance.

It is intriguing how in life whenever there is an easy solution the consequences get tougher. The situation reaches a point where when one really needs the help of antibiotics it is no more effective.

This is the third global conference and the previous two conferences had already seen collaborative work to tackle the risk of antibiotic resistance. The conference is also intended to highlight the role of environment in the spread of AMR and the importance of surveillance and monitoring of both AMR and antimicrobial use across all three domains - humans, animals and the environment. It goes on to prove how connected everything is.

The easy way out is not useful in almost all cases.

As a student in a boarding school which had a huge campus, a group of us found a short cut by jumping over a short fence. It was extremely convenient and we could reach the class quickly; until one day when a senior teacher got to know about this convenience. She always spoke very little but always left an impact.

“In life never take shortcuts,” she had said.

At that age I could only think about short cuts to reach the classroom. But as years passed the words got louder and the meaning was applicable to so many aspects of life.

Look at it this way - short cut to success: we might not have the experience to handle the pressure and the demand of being successful compared to being seasoned with time. Now does that mean we should not climb the ladder to success quickly? Probably can, but the success that comes with hard work and patience to cope with failure is simply hard to break under pressure. The person would know, ‘This will pass too.’

This group of people would not think of giving up easily, but I am sure they will be open to learn from mistakes and adapt a new solution quickly. They will not remain adamant, and yet other times they will have confidence in their ideas and will continue to refine it further.

Giving up is easy but accepting the shortcomings to improve oneself requires an inner strength. This inner strength is probably one is born with or can be cultivated as we learn from life. After all we are all born with creativity and a call - some recognises them, while others don’t, because they are busy trying to merge with the crowd or overtaken by the norms.

Life is about learning and unlearning. As we evolve how we study and what we study are also changing.

In the past, our main source of education was school, but now in this era of digital world the information is available at different levels. Just as the body has a mechanism to heal, the mind also has strength but what we probably need is the capability to handle thoughts such as to realise when we are indulging in negative thoughts and how to come out of them.

And when it comes to Antimicrobial Resistance, it is not just the duty of the governments and the heathcare providers to take measures on this challenge. It is also important that we are all aware of the situation and work together in providing a solution.

If there is an information overload that is happening currently then let it be of awareness on health and knowledge that is beneficial for the individual and the community. Because end of the day what we need is wisdom. As one saying goes: “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

For now it is important for us to unlearn the over dependence on antibiotics.