Learning
Dr. Murtaza Hameer is a medical doctor turned teacher. He pursued his medical degree in India and did the United States medical licensing exams in the USA. He also has a postgraduate diploma in education from the University of Dar es Salaam. He is the author of the book, “Learning How To Learn: Doing well in school, college and beyond”. He is passionate about education and teaching with interests also in philosophy, science, theology and spirituality.
I
met Dr. Conrad Fischer briefly back in 2007 at the Kaplan Medical Centre in Newark, New Jersey, where I had enrolled in U.S. medical exam preparation courses, and he taught some topics in physiology to my class. Dr. Fischer, an Internal Medicine doctor and author of several renowned medical review books, was a celebrity medical educator back then (and continues to be one even today!). He had the amazing ability to explain complex medical concepts in simple ways that made learning medicine fun and memorable.
Coupled with his humour and the occasional mild sarcasm, the man was a legend for many of his students. If we go by what Einstein said, that it takes a genius to make complex things simple, then Dr. Fischer was a one-of-a-kind genius. I mention the good doctor here because I wish to highlight his passion and zest for learning and teaching medicine.
Being passionate about what you’re studying, coupled with curiosity, is the beginning of all learning. To paraphrase the great Socrates, the sense of wonder is the beginning of all philosophy!
What I also learned from Dr. Fischer many moons ago is that there is beauty in medicine and learning in general. Each of us is here to fulfil our destinies, to sing our songs, to play our individual symphonies, to add meaning and beauty to the world. The great poet and mystic Mawlana Rumi said, “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth.”
So, whether you’re a student in high school or college, or a lifelong learner in life’s grand university, don’t forget to pause every once in a while and reflect: What is the beauty of what you love? How will you kneel and kiss the earth? There is no greater worship than your soul’s answers to these two questions.
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