Ecclesiastes 3:6 · World English Bible
Ecclesiastes 3:6 Meaning A Time to Seek
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
What does Ecclesiastes 3:6 mean?
Seeking is beautiful in its season, and then it becomes the final obstacle. A man searches because he assumes what he wants is ahead of him, and the search keeps him running into the future, which is the only place the mind can live.
From the Indian Guru reading below.
Ecclesiastes 3:6 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Indian Guru
AWARENESS
Indian Guru
Seeking is beautiful in its season, and then it becomes the final obstacle. A man searches because he assumes what he wants is ahead of him, and the search keeps him running into the future, which is the only place the mind can live. Losing the search is the moment the running stops.
Whatever is kept is kept as memory, and memory is weight carried into every fresh morning. Casting away means dropping the accumulation inside: the opinions, the old wounds, the identity assembled out of yesterday. Life turns through these seasons without asking permission, and awareness turns with it rather than clutching.
Indian Guru lensGo deeper in the app
Indian Guru lens
Live Ecclesiastes 3:6 today
- Delete or archive one thing you have been keeping for later, the saved tabs, the half-read list, the folder of someday. You are not losing it, you are putting down weight you have been carrying into every morning.
- In your next conversation, drop one old grievance you usually bring in with you. Talk to the person in front of you rather than the version of them stored from last year.
- When a plan falls apart today and you feel yourself grabbing to put it back, let it go for one hour before you fix anything. Life is turning whether or not you grant permission, and loosening your hold is cheaper than clutching.
What are you still carrying only because you once picked it up?
The same truth in other traditions
Zen
At the end of the search a student finds he is standing where he started, and the mountains look like mountains again. The seeking was the last thing in the way.
Tao Te Ching
Emptying is how room is made. Dropping what you have gathered, including the gathered self, leaves the usable space.
Buddhism · Dhammapada
Clinging is the source of the ache, and the ache goes when the hand opens. Nothing has to be taken from you: you simply stop holding it so tightly.
Free · No account needed
Read all of Ecclesiastes 3 through 17 lenses
Lensightful opens every verse of the Bible through the traditions you choose. Save readings, ask a follow-up question, and get one verse a day.
Get Lensightful on the App Store