Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

One of the reasons that I love Ecclesiastes so much is that it puts everything into perspective. So many times I get my hopes up about something. Sometimes those hopes are fulfilled. Other times, they are dashed. What's great about the perspective that Solomon gives is that the dude tried everything. And he learned from it. And he wrote about it. That's what's incredible to me. He goes out and tries everything there is to try to make himself happy - partying, women, drinking, work, wealth, planning, etc. But it all leads to the same meaningless existence here on earth. We're all headed to the grave no matter what we do here on earth. So the point of our lives must not be what we do here on earth, but how we plan for eternity.
And I love that he wrote all of this down. A lot of times people will get great insight from an experience, but they don't tell anybody about it. I've had close people in my life never tell me about themselves and what they've experienced and what they learned from those experiences.
That's what I get from Solomon. Live. Experience life. Keep things in perspective. And share your experiences. Help others learn. Life is best lived in community.
JM