Not seldomly do we observe certain occurrences of life and spontaneously appreciate the seeming senselessness of our too much occupation with the material side of life. In such moments of sober reflection, we would usually sigh “all is vanity.”
But why most people tend to experience this profound existential insight from time to time, it is hard to find individuals whose conduct in everyday practical living significantly reflects this all-important insight. In other words, we all tend to appreciate that all those temporal goods we pursue in life will ultimately not matter at some point, but then we are often relentless and immoderate in the manner we go about the pursuit. If actually we behave in line with the knowledge that these things must at a time cease to count, our communities, our countries and our planet would have been a much better place where greed and survival of the fittest would be less felt.
A few years ago, I was in a car with a few friends and as we rode through a community in Anambra State, one of us pointed to a house and told us that it belonged to an illustrious son of the state who died many years ago. This man is a well known successful businessman who saw the peak of his social success in the 1980s and 1990s. However, what used to be an outstandingly posh house was looking desolate with evidence of desertion written all over it. Nobody would admire the building again for two reasons. First, it has gone out of fashion; years ago when it was built, it was a beautiful bride that everyone would want to have. Second, the building was evidently not sufficiently occupied or maintained, at least from our observation. What we saw on that day was looking quite ordinary as against special and bland as against flashy. My friend, the owner of the car we were riding in, asked with disbelief to be sure of what he heard. Our informant reaffirmed the information he was giving us regarding the owner of the house, and this friend of mine shook his head slowly and exclaimed, “this life is all vanity.” He had been struck by that occasional punch of existential insight that often makes us momentarily wise in the face of the allures of materialism. However, like with all of us humans, this feeling did not last in my friend whose ambitions as a businessman is well-known to me. Thus, on the evening of the same day, he was back to his default mode of romancing with his ambition of building his business to a level that will make him a billionaire. As often, he was already telling me about his plans and seeking my views!
The world is all vanity but how often do we remember this when we insist on acquiring wealth we do not need in this brief existence, when we cheat others, when we engage in all manner of underhand dealings to outdo others in business, in quest for power and in all other competitive spheres of life? I had once boarded a bus and the driver was speeding recklessly until we met another bus that had got involved in a fatal accident whereupon our speeding driver.instantly became sober and reduced his speed to a level I considered even abnormal on an expressway. This describes our usual behaviour in the face of life’s wise insights. When certain significant events occur bringing these insights quite closer to mind, we momentarily become sober and full of wisdom. But soon after, all this is lost in the noisy fray of everyday routine life.
Life is all vanity, but who remembers? Whose life is every moment guided by this great insight that should make us humble, contented, and moderate in our temporal pursuits? Until we stop relying on monetary emotions that birth only momentary sobriety and wisdom, we will never live in line with the correct principles demanded by the ephemeral nature of our existence. The solution lies in intenalising the wisdom, not as a matter of momentary emotions, but as a matter of philosophical conviction and moral commitment. Only then shall we always remember that it’s all vanity.
This is my meditation this midweek.
Henry Chigozie Duru, PhD, teaches journalism and mass communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Insightful and hilarious😂😂 especially the bus driver part of the story.
Great writeup👏👏👏Life is truly vanity. If only we are conscious of that fact. At the death of someone, we are reminded of it . What matters is the number of lives we touch and not the wealth we amass.