When God created earth,everything was good,simply beautiful. This amazing beauty is markedly manifested in the way the human body works. I am privileged to have undertaken an indepth study of the human anatomy and I came to the conclusion that only one word can be used to envisage what entails a human being,perfection. Every organ in the body has been planted with a certain tremendous degree of intelligence which has helped to safeguard that precious thing that is cherished by all,Life.
If you asked a class three class who the fastest man on earth is, they will definitely and with utmost confidence sing in harmony "Usain Bolt". They could be right, but only to some extent. Deep within us we know that this cannot always be the case. Infact you and I, have been structured with a robust capability to set a new world record if we so wished!
Perhaps you are wondering how.
Well, suppose you are in a jungle wandering alone and then you come across a hungry lion,do you wave at it smiling,seemingly waiting for that esteemed opportunity to caress its mane? I don't think so. That would be ridiculous if not idiotic. On the contrary,you would be on your way to setting a new world record in sprinting and perhaps high jump. I've heard of a guy who jumped over a ten feet kay apple fence unscathed when he was being trailed by armed thugs. In any case we have witnessed some of those incidences,thanks to Naswa.
Recently I was returning home from the market treading some bushy village path when I nearly stepped on something terrifying. It was crossing from a bush nearby into the forest,apparently retiring from a long day's hurstles. At that instance,the reptile got frightened as much as I was and coiled back into the middle of the path. It raised its head in a stance that showed it was ready to strike. I then saw something amass at its neck forming an ugly bulge and I could already imagine a surge in its venom up my saphenous vein.
I was scared stiff. My heart began racing,throbbing in unusual palpitations. I feared it was going to herniate through my intercostal muscles or even worse incapacitate me with a flailing chest. My blood pressure shot up,pupils dilated letting in a picturesque image of the noxious monster. Hell was breaking loose as I felt my clothes stuck to my drenched body;Sweat. I never imagined the hair on my arms and at the back of my neck could stand on end as they did. It was simply an unexplainable feeling getting to experience my blood vessels flooding with adrenaline.
Luckily enough and against my expectations,all my flexor and extensor muscles came to my aid in a powerful potency. Things happened in rapid successions. Flash! Before I could fathom what was happening ,there in my grip was a sizeable freshly plucked eucalyptus branch. At its mounding end hung a SEVEN FEET glistening BLACK MAMBA with blood dripping from its gravely severed head. Goodness! It was the largest, blackest, heaviest and the longest live snake I've ever encountered in my life! Nontheles I took a deep sigh of relief albeit fears that the setting sun could have been the last I had espied.
Coming to recount my gruelling experience to my family and friends proved to be another matter. In layman's terms ,I demonstrated how I had exercised my machismo and bravity. I mean, wasn't it so obvious and very normal for me to have shown my prowess in such an heroic manner. My younger brother in his wildest of fantasies even chipped in that he could have strangled the well fed reptile with only his bare hands!
I later realised how I had overlooked the fact that God,with all his humongous intelligence has encrypted within us a system,so well sychronised and co-ordinated that his beloved creations can survive any kind of danger that might threaten a life.
In physiological aspect,all organisms,humans included are irritable that is they have the ability to perceive changes in their environment and react to those changes appropriately. Thus irritability, a characteristic that is enhanced by a very important system in the body, ensured that I got rid of the snake which had put my dear life at risk. This amazing system is called the sympathetic nervous system.
Sympathetic system is a component of the autonomic nervous system that predominates during imergency "fight-or-flight" reactions and during exercise. Its overall effect under these conditions is to prepare the body for strenuous physical activity (such as fighting a snake or escaping from a hungry lion.) Isn't this amazing!
Another important activity that occurs when one is predisposed to danger is the reflex action, differently known as a reflex. This is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a simple stimulus which does not require mental processes. More important is the withdrawal reflex which occurs in response to a usually painful stimulation of the skin or surface tissues and muscles.
Its important to note the survival values of withdrawal response. Now,suppose again you are somewhere in the fields and then you happen to have inserted your hand in a hole and all of a sudden you felt a sharp ringing pain on your index finger. Do you start asking yourself what could have stung you while your hand is still lingering in the hole? Whether it was a snake,a wasp or a scorpion? You should surely know better.
Perhaps again you could think that everything is so obvious. Think again. What if all these life's processes stopped today? It surely could be the beginning of the end. Simply disastrous.
While teaching us Biology,there is a teacher who had used an example that makes me laugh about it every time I remember. This is what he told us: imagine a world without the reflex. You are cooking in the kitchen then you see some smoke rising above your head followed by the smell of something burning,like flesh...then you start asking yourself, "Mmh..hii moshi inatoka wapi,na ni nini hiyo inaungua?", you then look down your feet and you are like, "Ooh! Kumbe ni miguu yangu inaungua" and before you even react, your whole body could be on fire. If this happened,then the extinction of the human species, if not the entire creation, would be inevitable.
Thats why I've grown to really value life. Thats why I value and love being a medic. The fact that we are alive is a miracle in its complexities. God's work is a miracle that needs to be appreciated everyday,and this is what He reminds us to do;
Its worth remembering what this verse echoes:
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 139:14 KJV
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