Throughout the history of civilization, humans, as thinking beings, have continually engaged in intellectual reflection, even to the point of questioning their very existence in this world. Human existence has been the central theme of discourse among thinkers throughout the ages. These thinkers typically begin their reflections with questions such as: “What is humanity’s true purpose?”, “Is the meaning of life predetermined before we enter the world or discovered through the process of existing in it?”, “What is the purpose of life if everything ends in death?”, and various other questions. But at its core, humans want their existence in the world to be truly meaningful and to be able to live their lives in peace and freedom.

The Book of Ecclesiastes pondered similar philosophical issues in our reading. He observes that the righteous, the wicked, the good, the evil, the clean and the unclean all share the same ultimate fate of death (vv. 2-3). However, it is clear that life is more precious than death. Therefore, the preacher's advice is realistic: enjoy life. Enjoy being with loved ones and in all the blessings and gifts that God has brought into everyone's life (v.9). Do the best you can with the things of life such as work, balance, knowledge, and wisdom because in the world of the dead they are of no account (v.10).

The preacher seems to want to bring us to appreciate and enjoy life precisely by remembering death. Death is not avoided in the preacher's philosophical reflections, but instead becomes a trigger for discussion and authentic appreciation of life. The meaning of life is born when a person appreciates his life and welcomes death as well as possible. By remembering the end of everything, namely death, a person gains awareness to enjoy life and live his life to the best of his ability.