Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

I read through Ecclesiastes; he largely has a hedonistic approach to life, very much, “eat, drink, and be happy for tomorrow we die.”

But much of it resonated with me. I suspect he was either middle-aged facing the decline of his life, or he was at the end reflecting on his life. He mentions the meaningless of wealth, accomplishments, and even wisdom. He mentions even if you have a hundred kids (legacy) and live two thousand years, it all ends in the same way, death.

“Eat, drink, and enjoy your work.” This may seem like a flippant remark out of despair, but I wonder if it is not. He is challenging me that there is no there, there. Stop trying to live my life for some far off destination. It is about the journey. Life is the road.

“Meaningless, meaningless” and some translations include “it is all a chasing of the wind.” At the beginning I took that to point to the futility of trying to reach for something you can never grasp, but by the end I had another picture.

I saw in my head the image of a child playing in the warm summer, laughing with arms stretched in the cool gentle breeze. He is running and laughing and playing; he doesn’t care that he can’t catch the wind. He is happy to just experience it.

The Holy Spirit is sometimes analogized as wind (breath). Can I be content living life with the Holy Spirit, seeking Him not because I can ever fully grasp Him, but simply as a response to His love?

Live life; enjoy my work; love well; and ultimately be an emanation of God in this world.