Spirituality

Ecclesiastes: 6 key ideas

by Kohelet (trad.)

The core ideas of Ecclesiastes, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 6

   A season for everything

   There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to build and a time to let things fall.

   Life moves in seasons, and wisdom is knowing which one you are in.

2. IDEA 2 OF 6

   Chasing the wind

   Kohelet tried wealth, pleasure, projects and fame and found them as hard to hold as breath or wind.

   Grasping for lasting satisfaction in them only tires us.

3. IDEA 3 OF 6

   Enjoy the simple gifts

   Eat your bread with joy, enjoy your work, and love the people beside you.

   Since we can't control the future, the gift is in today's ordinary good things.

4. IDEA 4 OF 6

   Two are better than one

   If one falls, the other can lift them up.

   A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. We are meant to carry life together.

5. IDEA 5 OF 6

   Nothing new under the sun

   What has been will be again.

   Seeing that our worries and triumphs are part of a very old pattern brings humility, and a strange kind of relief.

6. IDEA 6 OF 6

   Cast your bread on the waters

   Give and act generously without knowing what will come back.

   We can't see how things will turn out, so sow good seeds morning and evening anyway.