This sort of proverb was created from observation. The African wise man, observing an elephant, realizes that where he limps because of the presence of thorns, the elephant walks on that same spot without limping.
This is so because the elephant’s feet and soles are too hard to be penetrated by thorns. Or thorns are too small and too weak to hurt an elephant’s feet to make him limp. Comparing the two, the elephant is much much bigger.
The elephant is a symbol of greatness and power. Whereas the thorn is a symbol of a problem, pain, suffering, etc.
Putting all the pieces together, we can understand from the proverb that, there is a certain level of greatness and power that when one attains it, certain things that are problems will not or will cease to be your problem. Example:
Many are those who are running away from their land Lords because they have not paid their rent for last month. But those who, by God’s grace, have succeeded in building their own houses do not run from any landlord.
There are many countries that are running to the IMF to bail them out of economic crisis, using the effect of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war as an excuse.
At the same time, there are other countries that are productive and have managed their economies to attain a high economic status to such an extent that, even in the presence of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war, they are well off.
The same thorn that makes the human being limp does not hurt the elephant for he is huge and the soles of his feet are strong. The same COVID-19 and Russian-Ukraine war that are making many African countries run to IMF could not cause Japan, Switzerland, China, etc. to seek IMF support.
