Vanity of Vanities...

...all is vanity.

Said King Solomon in his old age.

Even though I do not believe everything that is written in the Bible, I do agree with this statement. A lot of people today live and conduct their lives over pointless material things. Some are not even physical things.

Take Facebook for instance. Or Instagram. Or Twitter.

What do the likes and 'friends' that one has collected even mean? What is the purpose of the countless edited photos that one posts up?

People today go to the extreme to get likes and followers. Some have even died while in the act of getting an 'awesome' selfie picture. Click on LINK to read what stupid things people have done for a selfie which resulted in death. Selfie with an injured bear! What a moron! Selfie on train tracks with a speeding train heading towards the selfie-rs.

Solomon was the richest man on Earth during his time. People from all over the world went to him for advice because he was the wisest man of them all. He even had 700 wives and 300 concubines! He had everything. But in the end at his old age, he felt all had been meaningless and futile.

The literal translation of the word 'vanity' is "ha-vel" which means "vapour" or "breath". It is only for a short moment and then it is gone forever. What Solomon was trying to tell us is not be swept away by the temporal things in life which have no meaning. Live a life which is meaningful and not one which is filled with vanity.

We've been given one life. Don't live in on futile things. Don't let vanity be the bane of your life.

Live meaningfully.

Make full use of your life.

*picture taken from HERE

Mottainai

Mottainai is an ancient Japanese philosophy. It is translated as "Oh what a waste!" or "Don't be wasteful!". It is a term used to express a feeling of regret at wasting the fundamental value of a resource or object.

The word "mottainai" is believed to have origins in the Buddhist philosophy and religious practices. *It is used to express the feeling of regret that carries metaphysical, ethical and aesthetic connotations.

*taken from HERE

This term was made famous outside of Japan by a Kenyan environmentalist named Wangari Maathai. "Mottanai" to an environmentalist is to respect the resources around us. To not waste resources. To use things with a sense of gratitude. It has become synonymous with the four Rs: re-use, re-purposing, repairing and respecting items.

In these times of consumerism, massive wastage and extreme pollution, let us practice "mottainai" in our everyday life to help save our environment and also our wallets!