I have often returned to the ancient Jewish wisdom book of Ecclesiastes. The book itself purports to be written by the great king Solomon, but scholars for a long time have thought the book merely uses Solomon's name. Nonetheless, it is a helpful element of the Jewish wisdom tradition.
Its content is quite simple—and quite disturbing. The great king, being very wealthy and very wise, has tried everything under the sun to find some meaning in life. Nothing has been denied him. His answer? Everything is meaningless. It is like chasing after the wind. You will never catch the wind so why bother? Life is quite literally a waste of time. (There are a few brighter passages in the book, like the poem about everything having its own time, but not much beyond that). I have found the book at once depressing, but also inspiring.
I think "the Teacher" (as the king calls himself) says things I have felt often. Life has a drudgery about it—the daily round of getting up, going to work, coming home, most days of most weeks of the year. The drudgery is interspersed with brighter weekends and occasional vacations. Holidays promise hope, but often don't deliver. Meaningless. According to the Teacher we tend to surround ourselves with pleasures that act like a drug that soon wears off.
Is the Teacher right?
It depends on the way you look at life. The great mystical traditions tell us that there is a deeper way of looking. A looking into rather than a looking at. It is a seeking the Tao, a way that is always there yet always hidden. The Tao does not reveal itself to the casual observer, but to the careful seeker. Glimpses of the Tao dispel the gloominess of the Teacher.
Philosopher Irving Singer wrote a trilogy called "Meaning in Life." He suggested that though a "meaning of life" is impossible to find, everyone can find "meaning in life." The trilogy is worth a look if you have time. Singer's point, that I want to emphasize, is that meaning can be found in the ordinary lives we lead. Meaning is found in the daily round of "work, rest and play" (as the old British Mars Bar ads have it).
Meaning is found in the Way that permeates all things. Look for it yourself. It will likely have something to do with value, and with love and with the Spirit.
+Ab Andy
Its content is quite simple—and quite disturbing. The great king, being very wealthy and very wise, has tried everything under the sun to find some meaning in life. Nothing has been denied him. His answer? Everything is meaningless. It is like chasing after the wind. You will never catch the wind so why bother? Life is quite literally a waste of time. (There are a few brighter passages in the book, like the poem about everything having its own time, but not much beyond that). I have found the book at once depressing, but also inspiring.
I think "the Teacher" (as the king calls himself) says things I have felt often. Life has a drudgery about it—the daily round of getting up, going to work, coming home, most days of most weeks of the year. The drudgery is interspersed with brighter weekends and occasional vacations. Holidays promise hope, but often don't deliver. Meaningless. According to the Teacher we tend to surround ourselves with pleasures that act like a drug that soon wears off.
Is the Teacher right?
It depends on the way you look at life. The great mystical traditions tell us that there is a deeper way of looking. A looking into rather than a looking at. It is a seeking the Tao, a way that is always there yet always hidden. The Tao does not reveal itself to the casual observer, but to the careful seeker. Glimpses of the Tao dispel the gloominess of the Teacher.
Philosopher Irving Singer wrote a trilogy called "Meaning in Life." He suggested that though a "meaning of life" is impossible to find, everyone can find "meaning in life." The trilogy is worth a look if you have time. Singer's point, that I want to emphasize, is that meaning can be found in the ordinary lives we lead. Meaning is found in the daily round of "work, rest and play" (as the old British Mars Bar ads have it).
Meaning is found in the Way that permeates all things. Look for it yourself. It will likely have something to do with value, and with love and with the Spirit.
+Ab Andy