Anyone ever read Ecclesiastes?

one of the best books in the Bible.

GOAT

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For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ma time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.2 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

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Anyone ever read Ecclesiastes?

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Yup.

Nothing new under the sun.

All is vanity.

Its a tough book. Written from the perspective of no hope.

Solomon is probably the writer, and no person on earth had as much riches (relative to their time period) as Solomon.

I once had the privilege to meet a man that seemingly had it all. This guy zipped around on his private jet and lived in a multi million dollar mansion. His words almost instantly made me more content.

He said that he spent half a lifetime getting to the top of the mountain. Then when he got there, he realized that nothing was there. That was his ministry - to tell people that nothing is there.

There's only 4,537 words in it.

And many of those are small words.

Yes, several times, it's quite a departure from the Sturm und Drang of the (original) OT.

Several times, some deep deep wisdom in there for sure.

Yes - one of my favorites. (Which is sad, although it's an accurate reflection of my beliefs and philosophy.) I'm sort of surprised they allowed it to be included in the Bible, but I reckon it was bundled with other scriptures and would have been hard to excise.

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Its a tough book. Written from the perspective of no hope.

Solomon is probably the writer, and no person on earth had as much riches (relative to their time period) as Solomon.

I once had the privilege to meet a man that seemingly had it all. This guy zipped around on his private jet and lived in a multi million dollar mansion. His words almost instantly made me more content.

He said that he spent half a lifetime getting to the top of the mountain. Then when he got there, he realized that nothing was there. That was his ministry - to tell people that nothing is there.

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Well, if he had a wife and kids to share it with, I don't see how he can say that.

I'd give anything to travel the world as I please and experience as many cultures as I could with my wife and children with me.

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Yes - one of my favorites. (Which is sad, although it's an accurate reflection of my beliefs and philosophy.) I'm sort of surprised they allowed it to be included in the Bible, but I reckon it was bundled with other scriptures and would have been hard to excise.

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Some of the scripture they didn't allow in the bible is wayyy out there compared to this though

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I can hear the Rickenbacker.

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And see the Dutchboy haircuts