I had another article all planned for this month.  I just closed it and decided to write this one on a whim.  Sometimes I am struck by little “inspirations” and I feel like I have to just follow my gut (actually, the use of the word “gut” is a bit of a pun, but you’ll have to read on to understand why).

I had a CT-scan this morning.  I’ve had one before; I knew what to expect.  Last night before bedtime, I sat down with my straw in hand and sucked down a barium milkshake.  It was mocha/cappuccino flavored, which is far more pleasant than what I’ve had in the past, but still, let’s face it folks:  it’s still a barium milkshake.  Then, I woke up early this morning, turned on the TV and treated myself to yet another mocha flavored barium milkshake.

I drove to the imaging place, a nice office with a super-cool free coffee machine (anyone who knows me, knows that any place with a free coffee machine is tops in my book).  I sat down, waited for them to call my name, and sucked down a cup of coffee.

Fast forward ten minutes…I’ve changed into scrubs, walked into the imaging room, laid down on the table, had the IV inserted, and am waiting for the scan to begin.  I’m very calm about these things.  They don’t really bother me.  I’m not an alarmist about radiation or anything like that.  I relaxed, held my breath when I was told to, and before I knew it, the scan was over.

So, as I was leaving, the technologist asked me if I wanted a CD-ROM of my films.  I stopped.  I’d never been asked that before, but I thought, why the heck not?  I think it would be fun to look at pictures of the insides of my lower abdomen.

I hurried home.  I popped the disc into my computer, loaded the software that allows me to look at the pictures, and in a few moments, I was starting at a picture of my large and small intestines…

…I think.

You see, what I thought would be an interesting little exercise in peering into my abdominal organs was, in fact, a lesson that I have to remind myself of every now and then:

I don’t know everything.

Yes, it can be painful to admit, but every once in a while, I get a jarring reminder that as much as I like to think that I know everything there is to know about everything, there is no possible way that could be true.  As I sat and stared at the interesting images, I thought to myself “You see, this is why radiologist and radiological technologist go to school for this stuff.”  I simply don’t have education and experience to read a CT-scan.

So, that’s a cute story and all, but what’s the point?  Just this:  no man is an island.  We all have different talents, gifts, likes and dislikes.  There is no reason that any of us should feel like we have to do it all on our own.  There is a reason that we are all here together, rather than alone:  we all need each other.

The take home message is this:  it’s okay to rely on others for help.  And even more than that, it’s okay to tell someone how much you appreciate them and the work they do.

Because, I’m willing to bet money, marbles or chalk that someone else appreciates what you do too.

So, back to the title.  Why is the know-it-all so elusive?

Because it doesn’t exist.

PS - I don’t want anyone to be alarmed by the CT-scan thing.  It’s just a hernia.