I’M NOT THE FOOL YOU THINK I AM

A very good friend of mine, who’s all of philosophy, although he may not realize it, once taught me a very good lesson of being a fool to others. He’s one kind of person who’s always doing extra. He always does more than what he is asked to do to the extent that our Madam even got fed up and complained about it. You’ll always see him busily doing something. He is a guy who always wants things to be done the right way. Maybe that explains why he was given the name “JUSTICE”. Sometimes when you call him Justice, he’d respond “Must Be Done”.

I’m not a fool – I’m just testing you

I am very proud of him because of what does. He sometimes does some works my Madam will call in the local dialect (Twi) “Mbaa Ejuma” which means female works. He does these works such as sweeping even when there are ladies there who are supposed to do it according to my Madam’s principle of “Mbaa Ejuma”. I always watch him in genuine amusement when I see him doing this. He’d sometimes go to my Madam’s house to help them with some house chores.

So one day, he passed by my place and we were having a conversation then this topic came up. We actually live in the same neighborhood: about three minutes’ walk away from each other. So he said to me, “You see that when you put your fingers together you have ten fingers?” and I replied Yes. Then he said, “You can use the two little fingers to be a fool to someone, then the next two ring fingers and sometimes even the middle fingers, but it should never get to the index or pointing fingers then the thumb”.

He then explained to me, there are some people that when you try killing yourself for them, they take you as a fool. You’ll do something good for them and they will never appreciate you but they will rather try to take advantage of you and misuse you. When this happens for the first time, don’t worry, and for the second time don’t worry. You should rather take advantage of this to learn about them and know them better. It can happen for the third time but you shouldn’t allow it to happen again. When he said this I understood him. He is no fool for doing all the extra works, things he has not been asked to do but he was rather doing it for his good; to know the people he can trust.

I realized that I have also been doing same although mine was not in a form of his. Mine is mostly about favor and being patient with others. Someone would ask you to do something for them and they’ll pay you back. But after you do yours, they forget their obligation. They forget the promise they made to you. I allow myself to get fooled once or twice because I believe everybody deserves a chance. But when you miss those chances I then know how to relate with you. If you owe me a favor and I don’t say anything, it doesn’t mean I have forgotten. If you hurt me and I don’t say anything, it doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings. If you do something and I brush it off, it doesn’t mean I didn’t notice it. I just give chances, for you to make your wrong right but if you fail then even your right will turn to wrong.

So I want to tell you, it is okay if people have cheated on you before, you’re no fool. It is okay if you have been deceived before, you’re no fool. It is okay if people didn’t show appreciation for the things you did for them out of pains and sacrifices, you’re no fool, but it is not okay for it to happen over and over again. Rise up and show those people that you’re not a fool. Let them know that you knew what you were doing. Let them know you were testing their trustworthiness. Let them know that you gave them a chance to prove themselves worthy but they failed. And if someone seems to be doing much or maybe too much for you, don’t take him for a fool. Treasure him and let him know how you appreciate him, because you have limited chances.