Tourists often state with great jealousy how wonderfully green Ireland looks from the air. This wonder often fades when they land and realise just how much it must rain to achieve such vibrant colours! I experienced the reverse of this on a recent speaking engagement in Cairo. As we flew in over the desert, the pale-golden sands stretched uniformly across the dusty horizon. However, there was an unexpected scroll of dark green which stood out like a beacon.
We realised that these were banks of fertile farming ground, being watered by the great River Nile. It reminded me of the phrase, “the grass is always greener elsewhere...” and the negative mindset that such an attitude creates. Always being disillusioned and wishing to be somewhere else is not healthy. Being disenfranchised is such a poisonous emotion, as it can give rise to much resentment. And it happens more than we are prepared to admit – denial is not just a river in Egypt!
Maybe a much better phrase to consider adopting is “the grass is greener where you water it.”. Think how much your outlook would improve with that perspective, when you decide not to be a victim of circumstance, but instead invest in improving any situation you find yourself in, for everyone’s benefit. If you do this, your new attitude will be irresistible to others (though that might be the pharoah-mones!).
For Eye News April/May 2026, we can learn from those who proactively chose to water wherever they could. Making myopia a public health priority takes effort, but will have a big impact on patients’ futures, as per Abdullah Shakeel’s interview with Serge Resnikoff. Geoff Hilton-Barber literally took to the water to show us what is possible, which he shared memorably in an interview with Peter Cackett. Trainee lessons abound from beyond the slit lamp (Annelore Figari), through memorable patient encounters (Joan Hanson) and from our Nurses Forum, which explores the hidden dangers of sharing eye drops (Fangdong Wang). Gwyn Williams shares his latest Learning Curve on the fertile topic of employment – is the grass greener in Wales, I wonder?! There are the usual inspiring initiatives from VISION 2020 amongst the usual conference reports and previews for your horizon planning.
I trust scrolling deeply through these articles will encourage you to see where, what and how you can improve your locality. Even if you can’t read hieroglyphics, I hope you get the picture. Team up with like-minded colleagues and plan how to make the grass greener, but remember to be patient! Carving something as great as the Sphinx takes time, but this pyramid scheme will benefit all you encounter. I do hope the next President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists isn’t currently Tut-ting at me… congrats again, Mo! - DL.
