Everything Is Vanity

It seems that many people misunderstand or misinterpret the "vanity upon vanity" quote. It simply means that money, power or fame can't save you from dying and you won't take anything with you when you die. Therefore, don't do evil or kill or destroy others or yourself because you want wealth, power or fame. It doesn't mean that don't work honestly to earn a living....

The "vanity upon vanity" quote doesn't apply to people like Mark Zuckerberg, because he made his fortunes from creating Facebook and he uses the proceeds to support the development of many communities around the world. Why does he do that? Because he knows that it's all vanity and he wasn't desperate for riches, he only used his talent and it worked out for him...

Indeed, it's all vanity. It's all meaningless, but to stay alive, one must eat, so to genuinely work to earn a living is not a bad thing. I know life or wealth is vanity, so I won't do evil to keep or gain it. So, work hard. Work smart. But, don't be desperate to make money. Don't do evil to make money...

The reality of this life is that we'll all die some day: rich or poor, great or little, ugly or pretty, dumb or smart, tall or short, good or bad, sick or healthy, loud or quiet, sad or happy, humble or proud, literate or illiterate, old or young, the reason why you shouldn't look down on people no matter the level you get to in life.

Death is the manifestation of the pointlessness of our lives and it doesn't matter who or whatever we are or become. We may have all the degrees, money, cars, mansions and whatever validates us, but at the end of it all, we'll still die and nothing shall we take along to our graves. It's painful, but it is the hard truth, so we need to begin to humble ourselves and know that life itself is vanity, let alone the material things in it we see and desire to have...

When we say it's all vanity, we don't mean quit your job or stop schooling or don't achieve your dreams, we are only saying that be humble, treat people well and know that it'll all end some day, so there's no need to be full of yourself and think that you're above others.

Even though, we all know that we'll die, but we must still not be lazy because of this fact, but work hard to take care of ourselves and our families with our honest earnings.

Like a philosopher or a minimalist, there are people who don't really care about owning houses or cars or the material things the world values so much. They enjoy living their lives based on experiences rather than worldly possessions. They hardly get into debts or let life pressurize them.

However, it's not bad to have an ambition to become a billionaire, but when you finally achieve that dream, don't forget to impact lives positively and use the money to support families, communities, regions and countries. But always remember to stay humble and nobody will tell or remind you that your wealth is vanity.

By Waterz Yidana

Playwright/Poet