At the beginning of March I released a single entitled “Nothing New” under a new project, which I’m calling “Climb the Ocean” If you streamed or downloaded it, thank you! Your support is appreciated. In just a few days, on the 26th of April, I’ll be releasing the second single of the project, “Never Be.” I am very pleased with this song, and I hope you like it.
These songs, and much of what I’ve written over the last year or two have been in large part inspired by the book of Ecclesiastes. At first look, the words of Ecclesiastes seem to stand in stark contrast to the rest of the Christian Bible. They seem to be an intermission of hopelessness and despair in of a story of hope and redemption. The book comes right out of the gate by lamenting the meaninglessness of, well, everything.
From Chapter 1:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
Most people can find themselves embarking on this train of thought without much difficulty. One doesn’t have to look far to find something to lament about. What do we gain from our labors? The sun will continue to rise every day after we die, just as it rose every day before we were born.
In the following chapters, the author raises more and more seemingly unanswerable questions: Why should I continue to toil if everything has already been done? Why should I seek gain in this world if I will lose it all in the end? What is the point of all learning if even the wise fail eventually?
I think all of us have asked these questions of ourselves at some point, even if they took on different, more personal, and sometimes painful forms: What if I made the wrong choice? What if this isn’t the person I’m supposed to be with? Why is it so hard to be happy? What if I’m wasting my life? This doubt is crippling. Dwelling on what could be is an easy trap.
Frustratingly, Ecclesiastes ends without giving a satisfying answer to any of these questions. The reader is left with this conclusion:
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
Reading this is discouraging. Am I just supposed to keep my head down and continue trudging through life, doing my “duty”? These questions will just rattle around my head, unanswered?
I don’t have an answer that I’m happy with yet. That leads me to the goal of the project “Climb the Ocean.” Songs are an easy way to ask hard questions, which is why I’ve decided to use them. Selfishly, this project is for me. I’m going to dwell on these questions, and I hope that maybe in a small way you might be able join me. I’m not seeking to find any answers, but to further explore the questions as Ecclesiastes does.
“Never Be” will be on all platforms on April 26th
Tad Jewett 