Ecclesiastes 1

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Ecclesiastes 1:2 KJV

The Hebrew word translated here as "vanity" is habel, and is correctly translated in other versions of the Bible as "unsatisfactory."

Could there be anything sadder than an older person looking back on their life and viewing it all as unsatisfactory?

I am not old yet, but I am at the age where I look back on where I've been, and, realizing I have fewer years ahead of me then behind me, I want to live the rest of my life in a way that isn't "vanity."

That makes me consider what in my life brought satisfaction, and what didn't. Interestingly enough, this isn't a difficult process. I don't have to take a "long, hard look."

Joy came from writing, singing, working in the garden, hiking, spending time with my animal companions, spending time with my family, spending time with God.

I would be foolish to not focus the rest of my life on those things. Not that I don't still have to work. Income needs to be made, the house needs to be cleaned. But I don't think I need to be so frantic about it, or spend so much emotional energy worrying about the things that don't get done. I also waste so much precious time! Doing things like surfing the internet, or watching the news, that don't help anyone and leave me drained. I need to restructure my time so that I'm doing what I love, so that my life doesn't pass away in "vanity".