What does it all mean? Where do you end up and what do you get after a lifetime of hard graft and heartache? The writer of Ecclesiastes struggled with this one. The
big one. The meaning of life, the universe and everything. Money, sex and power have their attractions, but the novelty eventually wears off. Wisdom, folly and madness all have their own particular appeal, yet they all seem to lead to to the same place. No
matter how strong or weak we are, no matter how beautiful or ugly, no matter how wealthy or poor, the worms get us all in the end. And what comes next? After the grave? Who knows? But one thing''s for sure. We can''t take it with us and who remembers us once we''re gone and pushing up the daisies? The next generation forgets the trials and tribulations of the previous. And their grandchildren will never know their struggles. New ideas may just be old ideas recycled, done in new ways. Every
generation re-invents the wheels of the past, does the same old things as their ancestors in new and creative ways. So where does that leave hope? Hope for this life and hope for the future. What
difference does anything make to the big picture? Does each generation really only go around in the same circles as the previous. Do we really forget the past only to repeat it? Sure, technology changes, culture changes, individuals grow and change...but the big picture?
Plus ca change, la meme chose. Out of the cradle, endlessly orbiting. What, cosmically speaking, does it matter...this, that or anything? The writer''s conclusion is twofold and fairly simple. Enjoy your work, it''s a gift. And everything else depends on what you believe.
believe nothing, it all means nothing. Believe in something and maybe it makes a difference.
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