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Part Two: Everything is Meaningless


This is a four-part series that has been inspired by my Bible read through (reading the bible from beginning to end). 

 As I read the book of Ecclesiastes, I was reminded of the book review I did earlier on Dealing with Disappointment. They both ask the big question: “Is life just one big disappointment?”

 Even if you are not a believer, I think this discussion will be equally thought-provoking and hold deep resonance with most, if not everyone.

What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered. Ecclesiastes1:15.

If we look at the suffering and the injustices in the world and the pain that humans can cause with one another, it doesn’t seem to ever truly go away; we can only do our best to move forward in the best way we can. 

The voids in our life can be large. From the lack of parental love and guidance to the loss of a loved one, the emptiness cannot be recovered in the way that we desire it to be. But what is the answer?

In Ecclesiastes 2:2-11, the futility of pleasure described a similar process that we repeat today. The endless cycle of what I can get and have is feeding the ego more than it is feeding the soul. If we buy into societal and social norms of seeking instant gratification to all our wants i.e. having a me-centred world - what I can I get?

Life can become an endless cycle of consumption. In truth, this may not have satisfied as much as we expected. If we were to be mindful of our choices and consumption we may notice a pattern that tells us of a deeper need than it meets the eye.

I close with a personal thought: meaninglessness causes us to think and ponder on our life choices. We should consider whether there is indeed more to life than a constant accumulation of self-indulgence that always fails to deeply nourish the soul.

I don’t think rewarding ourselves is the issue; it is the lack of everything else that sacrifices the soul to be constantly enslaved to worldly beliefs that may be the slow demise of the difference between meaningless to meaningful.  

 Recommended book: 

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