Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

It was time to review the book King Solomon wrote in the bible, Ecclesiastes.  I hadn’t read my Bible in a while, and I realized the issues that I was facing, and causing some of the depression, were the same issues King Solomon was writing about in his book.  King Solomon was the richest man in the world and lacked nothing.  He had hundreds of concubines.  He questioned the purpose of his life.  Things didn’t make him happy.  At times he despaired.  He said, what was the use, the same fate faces me as other people?

I realized it was time to review his book.  I certainly wasn’t the richest man in the world, but I was dealing with the same issues:  can things satisfy you?  What was the purpose of your life?  I certainly was at the tail end of my life.  So yesterday I picked up a Bible and started reading his book.  I know in the end he says the only wisdom is to fear the Lord, but I want to first read through all the issues he was detailing of his life.

Tags: can things satisfy you, concubines, despair, Ecclesiastes, fear the Lord, God, King Solomon, purpose of life, reading the Bible, richest man in the world, tail end of life, the Bible, things don't make you happy, wisdom
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‘The poor man thinks money will buy his happiness, the rich man knows it won’t.’  The first time I heard that said it was my pastor (and friend) who told me that.  I am sure it was not his original words.  It is true when you are struggling to pay your bills it is a common illusion.  And not being able to put food on your table is certainly anxiety provoking.  Money can’t replace your sense of purpose.  It is true sometimes your job is a good fit.

You always wonder how it would be not to worry about money.  King Solomon was the richest man in the world, had it all, lacked for nothing and all he could say in the book he wrote was, ‘Vanity, everything is vanity.’  Riches can not buy peace of mind.  If you read Ecclesiastes, the book he is credited with writing in the Bible, and do not read the ending; you miss the whole point.  In it he said the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.  Every person needs a relationship with the Almighty.  It all come down to that.  Money never satisfies.  Ask the billionaire who can buy anything whether money can buy him happiness.  I think you know the answer.

Tags: "vanity everything is vanity", anxiety, beginning of wisdom, Bible, billionaire, Ecclesiastes, fear of the Lord, God, King Solomon, money, money can't buy happiness, pastor, pay your bills, peace of mind, poor man, put food on the table, rich man, riches, sense of purpose, The Almighty, the Lord, wisdom
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Don’t torture yourself with the question why.  There is no answer.  Why did this happen?  Why me?  There is no answer to that question.  As King Solomon (as well as other people) said bad things happen to good people also.

There really is no answer to that question and if you ask yourself that question why this or that happens is all kinds of reasons will cycle endlessly in your mind.  And it is non productive.

I like the much quoted lines from Dwight D. Eisenhower’s mom.  I don’t remember the quote exactly but she said, “Every one gets dealt a certain hand (in cards); what matters is what you do with that hand.”

That is what she taught her son who later became a four star general and our President.  The only important thing is what are you going to do with your particular set of circumstances.  That is it.

No mulling endlessly, Why or Why me?  What are you going to do now?  That is the only thing that matters.

Tags: Bible, don't ask why, Dwight D. Eisenhower, four star general, King Solomon, president, why me, your circumstances
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Every day is a privilege and why do I act otherwise.  I act as if my days are endless and as King Solomon says, ‘Life is but a vapor.’

I waste (our) days sometimes.  I act as if my time on this earth is infinite.  I know.  I have been there repeatedly.  I have to remind myself each day is a gift.  I know I am a master of rationalization.  I act as if I will be forever here.

It is marvelous what a shower and putting on clean clothes (and dressing nicely) does to your attitude.  I am saying today matters.  I will respect my time here.  It is truly a gift.

It is so easy for me to fall down in the dumps to use a cliche.  I really have to work at it and sometimes from the outside first and my attitude towards the day will change.

Every day I am on this earth is a privilege and I have to treat it as such.  I really matter to the one above so I have to give him the respect due and treat each day that the Lord brings me as a gift.  It really is.

Tags: Bible, clean clothes, down in the dumps, each day is a gift, endless days, give respect to God, God, infinite, King Solomon, Life is but a vapor, Old Testament, respect my time here, take a shower, the Lord, time, time on earth, today is a gift, today matters, waste time, your attitude
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I always thought there would be tomorrows but now I am not sure.  My visits with my doctor made me realize this so I decided to plan the trip to San Francisco I have wanted to do since the late sixties.

I do not know what my fascination with San Francisco is but I have wanted to go there for forty years.  I want to go in style:  I will take a “sleeper” on Amtrak with my wife from Chicago to San Francisco next spring.

“The California Zephyr” goes across the United States:  I have always loved trains and they are my favorite form of public transportation.  I have almost six months to plan out this trip in next April.

I do not want to put off this trip any longer.  Who knows what the time will bring?  ‘Time is indeed a vapor’ in the words of King Solomon from the Old Testament.

Tags: Amtrak, Bible, California Zephyr, doctor, King Solomon, late sixties, Old Testament, public transportation, railroad sleeper car, San Francisco, thought there would be tomorrows, time, time is a vapor, trains, United States, who knows what time will bring
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‘Life is but a vapor.’  King Solomon’s words in the Bible.  If that is true and it is so what’s the point?  Your life will be over before you know it.

He tempers those words in the Old Testament with the statement and I am paraphrasing:  It is a gift to enjoy our life.

The Greek has several words for the word “time” and right now they escape me.  Nevertheless, one means the chronological passage of time and another means the significance of that point in time.

It is true, time seems, in retrospect, to flee you but not all points have similar value to you.  It is the points in time that have significance to us so don’t despair over the passing in time.

Cherish the moments you have been given for there is no more precious gift that can be given to you than today.  We all have so much and none of us knows exactly how much.  And that makes our time on earth here that much more valuable.  We never know when it is going to run out.

Tags: Bible, cherish the moments, don't despair, God, Greek, it is a gift to enjoy our life, King Solomon, life is a gift, Life is but a vapor, Old Testament, passing time, precious gift, time, time flees, time is valuable, time on earth, time runs out, today is a gift, what's the point?
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All there is, is today.  It is so easy to be distracted.  Life is full of distractions.  When your life is ebbing away, you wish there was more.  There is only today.

Sometimes the days seem endless and that is only an illusion.  Make the best of every dawn that you face.  And when the dusk appears, rest peacefully when you have made the most of the preceding day.

That is why there has to be empty spaces in every day.  Somehow you have to stop your frenetic activity and look at your past, examine the future and live fully in the present.

There is only one go of it.  Do not regret you have wasted, squandered the most valuable possession you have–your time.

So slow down periodically, welcome the empty spaces.  It is an opportunity to examine your life and truly do what matters the most.  It is too easy to imagine there will always be another day.  ‘Life is but a vapor’ in the words of King Solomon who had it all.  So think about it.

Tags: Bible, days seem endless, do what matters most, empty spaces, examine the future, frenetic activity, God, had it all, illusion, King Solomon, life ebbing away, life full of distractions, Life is but a vapor, live in the present, look at your past, make the best of each dawn, rest peacefully at dusk, slow down, squander time, time most valuable possession, today is all there is, waste time, wish there was more
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Sometimes I leave my newspapers (and magazines) unread and eventually pitch them.  I have no illusions.  If I miss one story or one article, my life goes on.  I never forgot what Thoreau said in “Walden“:  ‘why read the same thing rehashed over and over?’

There is a glut of information out there.  One thing has never changed:  the saturation point.  There is so much information you can absorb at one time.  As King Solomon says in the Bible:  you can be weary of too much study.

These words were written several thousand years ago.  Nothing has changed in that regard.  There is so much you can study, read.  You still have to live your life.  Sure you can learn from newspapers, books and magazines but if you do not integrate that knowledge into your life it is all for naught.

Thus, I have no reservations about not getting to any written material.  There is so much you can read and so much you can absorb at one time and you certainly have to live your life.  I have absolutely no guilt about leaving any newspapers, (etc.) unread.

Tags: Bible, books, glut of information, God, King Solomon, live your life, magazines, saturation point, Solomon, study, Thoreau, too much study, unread newspapers, Walden
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Just examine one section of the book in the Bible written by King Solomon (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) to illustrate this.  Truth is absolute but it is more complicated than that.  Yes, truth is absolute but is always balanced by another truth.  There is a time and place for everything.  It states there that ‘for everything there is a season,’ the section of the Bible from which Pete Seeger, the well known folk singer, adapted his lyrics of the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” which the Byrds had a hit with in the late sixties.

In those lines you have one statement or if you want to call it one truth balanced by another.  For example, ‘there is a time to love and a time to hate, a time to mourn and a time to laugh’ and so forth.

Too many people have pulled this Scripture (and others of course) out of context and declared part of each statement to be absolute truth.  If you were to declare one statement to be absolute truth (and it is), it is not valid for an eternity.

And this happens all the time when a preacher will act as though he/she is the only one who possesses the truth, and others do the same.  Yes, there is a time and season for every truth and be aware there will always (???) another side to it and there is a season for everything.

Tags: "Turn! Turn! Turn!", absolute truth, Bible, double edged sword, Ecclesiastes, for everything there is a season, God, King Solomon, Pete Seeger, Preacher, scripture, seasons, the Byrds, time, time and place for everything, truth, wisdom
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It is a four letter word — “pain”.  That more than anything in my life has initiated change.  My pastor yesterday related the story of Noah and the flood and of course the ark.  He said the storm comes first, then the promises of God represented by the rainbow.  Another way of saying the same thing is that God will always take care of you.  The 23rd Psalm states, ‘I will walk you through the shadow of death’, — not around but through.  Ecclesiastes, the book in the Bible written by King Solomon says, ‘Bad things happen even to good people.’  Storms always come or trials which is another way of saying the same thing.  Then the rainbow follows, which represents the promises of God.  God never forsakes us.  You never are able to see the big picture:  ‘God has set eternity in our lives’ (Ecclesiastes, again).  Life does not always make sense nor is it always fair.  If you insist on all that, you will torture yourself unnecessarily.  Pain and trials always come.  If your life ran smoothly all the time not only would your life be boring but there would be no need to ever learn how to overcome problems.  And trials and pain and tragedy come to each person.  No one is exempt.  And again, life is never fair.  And that is how we learn.  Through those trials (and the accompanying pain that follows).

Tags: 'God has set eternity in our lives', 23rd Psalm, bad things happen to good people, Bible, change, Ecclesiastes, God, God never forsakes us, God will always take care of you, King Solomon, knowledge, learning, life is not always fair, Noah and the ark, overcome problems, pain, pastor, promises of God, shadow of death, storms or trials, the rainbow, trials
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I have more than enough unread books and that does not include the steady stream of daily newspapers and magazines that come to my household.  Do I feel guilty I can not keep up with my reading, that I never read the complete newspaper from cover to cover?  Certainly not.  I am reminded of King Solomon’s words in the Bible and I am not sure I can quote that verbatim:  he says we can become weary of too much study.  I read what I most want to read.  I scan newspapers and magazines reading what most interests me.  I do not feel compelled to read every word.  That would be a trap and make reading onerous instead of the joy it is.  The words of Solomon written over 2,000 years ago have not changed.  In an era of instant communication one thing has not changed through the ages–the saturation point.  Each person can absorb so much information and then becomes sated.

Life is always a balancing act.  Reading is only one part of my life.  I need time to absorb and reflect on the significance of what I read and for that matter I need time to simply reflect periodically where I am going or have been.  That takes time and often quiet.  Reading is only one thing I do and is punctuated by empty spaces.  I never feel guilty I have not read enough or thoroughly enough.  It is all relative.  One has to live his life.  Ideas are only one thing.  Then one has to put into practice what he/she learns.  That is only possible if reflection takes place.  And that, of course, takes time.

Tags: absorb and reflect, balance, become weary of too much study, Bible, books, empty spaces, God, ideas are only one thing, joy of reading, King Solomon, knowledge, learning, magazines, quiet, reading, reading what most interests me, reflection, saturation point, time, unread newspapers
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