A school is said to be a place for formal education with a vast array of subjects yet, there are certain things that you won't find in a school's curriculum or find being taught within the four walls of a classroom.
Life is and will always remain the best teacher. Fifty percent of the things taught in schools might not even be applicable in the outside world or do you want to tell me that when shopping for groceries, you solve quadratic equations in the supermarket, looking for a missing X and Y before you pick out your needed items or before you make payment? The answer is no.
There are things that only going through the motions in life would teach you. Things like being street smart, learning to read between the lines, learning to understand people's intent behind their words and actions and so many more are not directly taught in schools.
Personally, there are many lessons that I have come to learn outside the school walls and one of them happens to be your enemy is usually within. This lesson corresponds with a biblical proverb that states…
”A man's enemy are members of his household”.
I learnt this lesson from observing different family trends around me, including my very own family and I have found it to be true. Betrayals stem from within rather than without, most of the time I recall a very painful experience that happened many years ago while I was still very young.
My immediate family and I had travelled to the village (my mom's side) for Christmas celebration. All was fine and good until boxing day. From what I recall, a family meeting was called and my mom went to attend the meeting held in the obi (a large sitting room). I was very curious or maybe I thought that there would be snacks to munch on and that made me follow my mom sneakily.
What I witnessed was not a meeting but a massacre. In the sense that my so called uncles and aunts had ganged up against my mom and betrayed her to the village head. These are the same people that my mom had opened her doors to times without number. She fed them and even helped them start up businesses by giving them huge amounts of money but these uncles and aunts were not satisfied. They eyed my mom's business venture.
I stood in front of the door peeking and eavesdropping in on the meeting and the cooked up lies I heard shook me to my feet. I began to question if they were really siblings. I even witnessed my mom's younger sister pour a hot plate of okra soup on my mom's head while raining insults on my mom.
It was a terrible sight to have witnessed at such a young age but I learnt from it. I learnt that betrayals from within hurt the most. That experience also taught me to watch my back and guard against betrayals. It also taught me to depend on myself with the help of God and not to depend on any extended relative.
Some people in need can be very terrible especially when they have gotten that which they seek from you. You would think that they would go their way in peace but the opposite is usually the case.
That experience taught me to lower my expectations from my extended family members and to not trust them enough to go to them for any form of help.
Understanding that the enemy can come from within has helped me to a great extent as I deal with people relationally. I have also learnt not to take people for granted so as not to give room for betrayals. I believe that when people feel valued and cherished around you, it would curb the instinct in them for betrayal.
I know that this is not always the case as there are still people who would go ahead to betray you even when you cut off your head for them, they are never satisfied. This set of people get envious of the hen that lays the golden eggs and seek to kill the hen, thinking that they would find more eggs inside the hen. They don't realize that the hen needs to be alive to keep laying golden eggs.
Life is not always in black and white, there are other shades to life. Some might be pretty and other shades are just nasty. You only have control over yourself.
These are my life lessons and more.
Thank you all for reading. This is my entry to the #hivelearners initiative for w176e2.
Images used are mine.