As everyone is in search of wealth and good things, it's a common opinion that everything good glows and glitters to show it's expensive or of high quality, but the reverse is the case because, just like the common saying, not all that glitters is gold, and that's to show us that some things are not what they claim to be and are just deceptions. One needs to be watchful to decipher what is from what isn't, and today I'll share an experience that perfectly reflects that.
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A few years ago, I was in a relationship with my ex, the lady I cared so much for. While I loved her dearly, I couldn't meet all of her needs because I only earned a few pennies, but I did my best. While I was in a relationship with her, her friend, who was also a student at their institution, was in a relationship with a guy who was super wealthy and spent judiciously on her.
The guy was so wealthy that he sometimes took my ex and his girlfriend shopping and bought different items for them. It continued and got to a point where my ex usually compared me to him and said all sorts of things. I really wished I could, but I don't have his kind of job and don't even know what he does for a living.
On one of such occasions, she advises me to reach out to the guy so I can know what he does for a living, and hopefully he'll teach and guide me so I can become as wealthy as he is. After so much thought, I decided to meet the guy, and when I got there, he told me he helped white men sell their products and that was how he made his money, which I later found out was a lie, and that he was into Yahoo, a phrase usually used to describe internet fraudsters here in Nigeria.
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I guess he sugar-quoted it for me because he knew I was religious and wouldn't have indulged in such a thing. Well, when I found out, I stopped going to his place, and even though my ex kept on bulging, I didn't care because I'd rather struggle to make money legitimately than dive into fraudulent acts that would put others in pain just so I could amaze wealth.
Fast forward to two years after that event, my ex-girlfriend friend who was dating the guy into a fraudulent act became very sick to the point of death; she was becoming leaner by the day, and her parents, after trying every possible medical center and having no positive outcome, decided to take her to a traditionalist, and it was at the herbalist place they found out the girl had been used for money rituals and only had a few days to live.
Nothing could be done to reverse what had happened, but the parents of the girl wanted revenge, so they asked the herbalist to perform a charm that would make evil before whoever does such to their daughter, and within just a few days the guy ran mad after confessing to all of his evil acts; apparently his girlfriend's pants were what were used to perform the ritual that made him retain his wealth after the fraudulent act wasn't going through as it used to.
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Painfully, the girl died not long after that, and even in that situation, I can remember my ex shivering in fear and even having to question me a million times if I didn't later join the guy in learning what he does. I laughed and made a joke that if I were like the guy, I wouldn't even have had any problem because she usually left her clothes at my place. Well, those were just jokes, and they didn't break us apart.
From that situation, I learned that, truly, not all that glitters is gold. While the guy was flaunting money, I was depressed and wished I was like him, unaware that he was just evil in disguise. Truely, the Yoruba proverb that says isale Oro ni egin meaning the root of wealth is shady is always correct, and I learned not to be too carried away by people's displays of wealth without knowing the source of their wealth. That has made me appreciate my hustle and know that I'm not really bad, even though I ought to do better financially.
That's all about my experience with a situation that helped me understand the adage all that glitters isn't gold, and the write-up was inspired by the Hive Learners Community features prompt.
Thanks for your time, stay bless.
Return from Lessons from Deception: How I Learned the True Worth Beyond the Glitter to vickoly's Web3 Blog
