By: Josephine Sesay

We enter this world with nothing as a new born comes into the world naked, helpless, and devoid of any possessions. It’s a humble beginning, one that speaks to the essence of life itself: that we start with nothing, and the only certainty we have is that one day, we will leave in the same way. Yet, in the time between birth and death, most of us embark on a relentless chase, a chase for money, power, status, and possessions, that will ultimately remain behind when death calls. And it is this chase that breeds the bitterness and envy that define so much of human existence.  Why do we spend our lives accumulating things that, in the end, cannot go with us? Why do we waste our precious time competing, criticizing, backstabbing, and one another in the pursuit of fleeting goals? We fight for recognition, for titles, for wealth, as if these things will somehow secure our place in the world or give us eternal value. But the cold truth remains: we come with nothing, and we leave with nothing.

This paradox, our relentless pursuit of what we cannot keep lies at the heart of human suffering. If death is the only certainty we can rely on, then why do we live as if our possessions and achievements will grant us eternal life? Why do we measure our self-worth by things that are so temporary, so fragile? Why do we fill our hearts with envy and bitterness instead of love and respect?  The answer, I believe, is found in the world we have created, a world that encourages competition at all costs. From childhood, we are taught to be better than others, to get ahead, to win. We are told that our value is tied to what we have, not who we are. In this environment, it’s no surprise that we become envious of those who appear to have more. We resent those who have achieved the success we long for, and rather than learning from them, we seek to tear them down. It becomes a race where everyone is running, but nobody ever truly wins.

Because the finish line, in the end, is death, and no one can outrun it. But what if there was another way to live? What if, instead of seeing life as a competition, we viewed it as an opportunity for connection, for growth, for mutual support? What if we could humble ourselves, let go of our egos, and recognize that our time here is too short to waste on hatred, jealousy, and backstabbing? What if we learned to love one another, to respect each other’s journeys, and to humble ourselves before the great mystery of existence? What if we spent more time lifting others up instead of tearing them down? What if we stopped trying to be better than others, and instead focused on being better for others?  The wealth, status, and power we chase will ultimately amount to nothing when the moment of death arrives. What will matter, in the end, is how we lived, how we treated others, how we loved, how we respected, and how we humbled ourselves before the truth that we are all mortal. When we stop seeing life as a race to accumulate more, and instead view it as a journey to love and connect, the envy and hatred that poison our relationships will begin to fade. Love what you have now, your friends, family or partner before death teaches you how to love what you have lost.