Nothing Is Free!

By: Titus W. Tokpah, Sr. I Contributing Writer

Growing up as a child in my aunt’s home in Woodcamp, Paynesville, I once overheard my uncle say, ‘Nothing is free unless someone is paying the cost.’ At the time, I pondered that statement for a while. Today, as a grown man, I have come to clearly understand that as simple as this expression may sound, life itself eventually teaches you its truth: nothing is absolutely free. Everything has a cost – even when money is not involved.

Let us widen this discussion a little. Cost is not defined by money alone.

Costs can be:

Time (hours, days, or years invested);

Effort and energy;

Opportunity (choosing one thing means giving up another);

Emotional or mental strain; and

Responsibility or obligation.

Things may appear free on the surface, but somewhere, somehow, someone is paying the price – or you will, indirectly. This is why the old saying rings true: ‘There is no free lunch.’ Every benefit comes with a sacrifice.

This morning, I watched an AI-generated video that refreshed my memory of my uncle’s words from more than two decades ago. In the video, a female dog watched her two puppies suffer from hunger. She ran into the street in search of food and encountered a woman selling fried fish by the roadside. The dog grabbed a piece of fish and ran back toward her puppies. Unfortunately, the lady angrily chased her down and took the fish away, leaving the hungry and thirsty puppies in sadness.

Later in the video, the dog had to ‘work’ at a petrol station helping pump gas into a customer’s car and begging along the street to earn money to buy that same fried fish for her puppies to eat.

That is life: nothing is free.

When someone is doing his / her humanly possible best to help you by easing your responsibilities or paying some of your bills, do not sit back, relax, and assume everything is fine because it costs you nothing. Dare not! Instead, always appreciate and pray for your source of help, recognizing that what you receive is not free at all.

My uncle’s statement, reinforced by that AI-generated video, further enlightens us that nothing comes freely in this world. We must keep working and paying the price for the things we desire. That price may be labor, time, energy, or emotional investment – whether it is paid by us or by someone standing in the gap for us.

Going forward, let us erase the mindset that something is free simply because we are not physically laboring for it. One way or another, you are paying or you will pay somehow, someday. Nothing is free.

About the Author:

Titus W. Tokpah, Sr. is a Liberian journalist, teacher, public sector professional, and public relations expert. He’s the author of ‘Image Building: A Researched PR Guide’ and the Founder / Executive Director of MediaAid Foundation – Peter Quaqua School of Journalism – PQSJ.

Currently, Titus serves as Deputy Communications Director at NEC Liberia. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program – IVLP in Washington, D.C., and the SARFT Training Center in Beijing, China. In 2024, Titus was nominated for the Lonestar-MTN MoMo Heroes of Change award.

Titus holds two distinct master’s degrees from Cuttington University School of Graduate & Professional Studies:

※Master of Arts in Teaching – MAT

※Master of Public Administration – MPA with High Distinction, specializing in Public Sector Administration.

He also holds a:

※Bachelor of Business Administration – BBA in Management and Economics, with emphasis on Human Resource Management – University of Liberia

※Associate of Arts in Education, focusing on School Administration, Supervision, and Leadership – LICOSESS College of Education

In addition to his academic credentials, Titus has earned dozens of certificates, excellence awards, and honors in journalism, media studies and digital communications, election management, and other professional disciplines.

Contact:

Email:mediaaidfoundation@gmail.com MediaAid.Foundation@facebook.com

mediaaidfoundation.websites.com

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