At first glance, I called the first twenty years of my life A Melody. Without theory or psychological intuition, I saw life as nothing more than a cycle of earning money, seeking shelter, eating food, and awaiting death. However, this simplistic view was shattered when I encountered a question that reshaped my perspective: What is the essence of life?
In my hometown, there was a man named Kokolowo. His name, which means “Money is paramount,” seemed to define his existence. Yet, despite his increasing wealth, his name faded into obscurity, leaving no meaningful legacy. A brutal truth, shared by one of his siblings, revealed why: “He never wanted to hear ‘Help me’ from anyone. His priorities were limited to his wives and the children he raised recklessly.”
Kokolowo himself justified this, saying, “My money is for myself, my wives, and my children. No one else knows how hard I worked for it. They are my future.” Ironically, his negligence toward his children led to his undoing. Two of them, returning from abroad, succumbed to drug addiction, filling the house with the smell of substances that eventually aggravated Kokolowo’s asthma and led to his death.
When Kokolowo passed, he left no lasting memory, not even among his family. There was nothing—no legacy, no impact—worth remembering.
Through this, I learned that the essence of life goes beyond the pursuit of wealth. The true meaning lies in the legacy of love and goodwill we leave in the hearts of others. As Aristotle once said, “The essence of life is to serve others and to do good.”
