Proverb is a word of wisdom usually expressed by our forefathers when they want to give a piece of advice based on their experiences. It is usually short words with deep meaning that requires one to use his or her common sense to interpret the meaning.
Growing up with my grandma, I learned a lot of proverbs from her because she always uses them each time she wants to talk to me about how to behave responsibly.
My grandma and I
Most of the proverbs she uses sometimes are always difficult for me to process but then, she will end up explaining the meaning to me. Many elders in my town regard it as a traditionally held truth and there cannot be a gathering of elders without them using proverbs.
Let me share with you all a real-life incident that happened around me about this proverb below :
PROVERB: AN ADULT WILL NOT BE IN THE HOUSE WHILE A SHE-GOAT 🐐 GIVES BIRTH WITH A ROPE TIED TO HER NECK.
MEANING: A wise person will not be present to watch things get spoiled.
Now unto the story.......
3 years ago, my brother-in-law who resides in the northern part of Nigeria, complained bitterly about how his business isn't moving well over there and pleaded that he come down to Lagos State where my husband and I reside to stay with us and establish his business here. We accepted his request and made accommodation available for him.
The man use to be rich right from time but later had issues and his business started crumbling. When he came and settled down, he told us that he will like to change his line of business and that he already has one in mind and will just rent a shop, and start immediately with the remaining capital at hand. We advised him to calm down and learn this new business for proper knowledge before investing money in it. However, he insisted on starting the business without learning it first and convinced us that he is capable of handling it. His main reason was that he has his wife and two children to take care of and so he wouldn't have the patience to undergo the learning phase before starting the business.
Well, we wished him well and he started. Being that he has tasted richness before, it was difficult for him to lower his standard of living even during his period of financial challenge and business transition and so he spends so high on so many things his eyes caught. There is no day he will come back from the market without shopping for lots of eatable things for us at home. He makes calls like those working in the central bank of Nigeria 🤩, sharwama, pizza, yogurts, cookies, etc were his daily shopping. He dares not eat soup preserved in my freezer but requests that I make fresh food for him daily 😉🤔. So many times, he buy irrelevant things and at a point, I became worried.
I was worried because this is a man with not too much capital in his new business when compared to his daily expenses. Don't get me wrong, it's never a bad idea for someone to enjoy himself but let it come at the right time. So after 4months of his stay with us and the commencement of his new business, I decided to visit his shop to be sure that all things are fine with his business. On reaching his shop, I was astonished by what I saw. Omg😱!!! It was almost an empty shop. I didn't know when I screamed out loud🤦. I tried asking him questions about how his goods vanished and the available capital but he kept stammering. It was dawn on me that he has zero knowledge about the business and how to manage expenses.
That same night, I arranged for an urgent discussion between him, my husband, and myself. Note: This man is my husband's elder brother but then, I couldn't fold my hands to watch things spoil just like that because he is my senior. So amidst our discussion that night, we discovered that everything was wrong with the new business starting with his extravagant nature and his lack of knowledge. He only complained of logos' cost of living being high and that is what affected him which wasn't the bone of contention there.
In summary, we suspended the business for him, made him learn the business under an experienced businessman for 6months, assisted him financially, and changed his location to somewhere in Abuja with a lower cost of living. Today he is doing very well with the business and he still expresses his gratitude to me for stepping in on his behalf.
Always be sensitive to your environment to know how you can be of help to someone. It might not be through money per se, some words of wisdom can save a dying soul!
This is my entry to the hive learners community contest week 19 edition 3 topic titled Proverb.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading !!!
Note: the first image is my personal image taken with my cell phone