“To everything there is a season.” Ecclesiastes proclaims it. Pete Seeger sang it. We are all in the midst of living it. Whether we like it or not, go kicking and screaming or with a modicum of equanimity and acceptance, we all experience the ups and downs, the absurdities, the vanities, from birth to death that is our brief allotted span.

There are those who look upon this with a sense of futility and hopelessness. There is nothing new under the sun. Why bother?

There are those who see the same reality as a mandate from God on High to live our lives in anguished guilt that we cannot do more but like Sisyphus, are bound to push our burden up hill in unending torture at least until a day of judgment has been set.

And there are those who are somehow comforted by the simple rhythms of life. We are born. We will die. In between we are inspired to love, to live as fully as we can, to give of our abundance, to notice that abundance in the miracle of being able to notice!

We cherish heart connections, moments of transition, birthdays, baptisms, communions, confirmations, ordinations, celebrations, memorials. And in between we choose to wake up each day determined to cultivate a sense of wonder and awe that will allow us to appreciate every moment of being alive just a little bit more.

Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. The Hebrew word is “heleb.” It means a mere breath, a puff of air on the wind. Yet it is the very breath we breathe that allows us to experience the miracle of joy, of love, of life. Buddhists call it “nothingness.” All is void. We come from the void and return to it. Yet it is that very mystery of nothingness that draws us into wholeness. When we remember to breathe we become more fully alive.

This day’s meditation, for me, is once again a focus on the rhythms of my life, an awareness that everything has its season. Today I am called to officiate at a wedding. Tomorrow I will celebrate a 90th birthday with a dear friend. As the journey unfolds I find more and more to be thankful for in my life. My prayer, for you, is that you will do the same.

Let the seasons of your life each have its reason and its blessing. Let even the hard times reap a harvest of strength and wisdom. Let the good times overflow into giving. Amen.