Impact on the world

Jane Goodall, the primatologist, conservationist and educator who died on 01 October 2025, said, “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you... What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make,” I heard her say these words today in a Netflix documentary titled “Famous Last Words”. It is the last interview given by her and released posthumously, as the Famous last words from her to the world. She lived her life by these words and what a great play of destiny that I had to hear these words today. 

 

I was feeling extremely low and sorry for myself in certain ways since afternoon. I had a class to teach this afternoon. The audience were post graduate residents of various medical colleges attending a research methods course. I had to teach two topics very interesting to me, ‘biases in research’ and ‘qualitative research’. I went well prepared and I think I delivered two well-rehearsed lectures. However, neither of these lectures had the intended impact of motivating and keeping students interested. In a class of about 100 students, more than 90 were at various stages of disorientation, sleep, and stupor. I tried hard to wake them up by making some subtle jokes, exaggerated by voice intonations, some hand gestures, and even gave some time for them to get up and walk around if they required to; but nothing worked. There was even a senior doctor right in the first row who would occasionally let out a loud snore! The languid response was so disheartening that I had two instances when I thought I should just stop and walk away, but I marched on and completed the classes. In the middle of this group of disinterested and tired residents, there were a few, probably 5-6, who were listening, but I could sense skepticism and doubt even in their body language. Putting a bunch of overworked, busy clinical residents in a room with air conditioning in full flow, with relentless lectures on research methods is a sure shot recipe for such a reaction. 

 

I got my blue line metro back from the university and went to my favourite coffee place to sit and finish some pending writing work. I ordered myself some overpriced coffee and settled down to reflect on the morning’s experience. It was humiliating to stand in front of a class of completely disinterested students who were obviously not listening to me. Talking without any communication is probably the worst kind. I have had instances where I have talked to my laptop camera without an audience when I recorded online courses. There at least it was recorded and there was hope that someone would listen at some future time. But what happened this morning was pure waste of effort, because I was talking without any purpose. Barely anyone was listening. I was wondering what happens to the words that I uttered. If someone was listening, the words would enter their mind and initiate a thought process, and they would have achieved their purpose. But what happens to all those words which are spoken by never reach anywhere. Do they hang around? Is it wasted energy? Do unheard words also have some purpose and impact? When nobody is listening to them do words have meaning? I think the last question was the one which upset me the most. Because, when we speak and when someone listens to it and responds, the meaning is created in the transaction. The words I speak gain meaning and purpose based on the reaction that the words receive. If nobody heard what I said, then whatever I said never achieved meaning. My thoughts were going in an overdrive and I even resolved to stop teaching in that workshop in coming times. 

 

It was at this time that I stumbled upon Jane Goodall’s documentary and heard her say those words. If Goodall was true, then I had an impact even today in front of those 100 people who were not listening to me. They were all awake and saw me when I entered the class. They must have listening to my voice till some point of time, and then dropped into a blissful slumber. I did some things right. I never did anything to disturb their sleep. Not once did even one of the sleeping residents budge during the ceaseless gibber gabber that I was engaging in! It was probably the first restful sleep that some of them got in a long time. I know of some teachers who would have woken up some of them and outright humiliated them in front of everyone for sleeping. But here they were, free to sleep, undisturbed and peaceful. The monotone of my voice probably added to the somnolent effect and enhanced the quality of their sleep. If what Jane Goodall said was true, this is indeed a very important impact that I left on that bunch of 100 students in class this morning. After 1 hour and 30 minutes of my lectures when I finished and prepared to almost run out of the auditorium in humiliation, I did notice a few of them waking up and stretching, with the blissful glory of a relaxing nap in the middle of the day. Thinking back, maybe it wasn’t that humiliating after all. Maybe giving them that restful hour of sleep was my impact this morning. Maybe I should continue making this kind of a difference in the lives of tired medical residents who are desperately looking for a getaway to catch 40 winks.