“….and there is nothing new under the sun.”

The wisdom of Solomon in my mind somehow equates not only to his mind, but also to his opulent and grandiose lifestyle as though somehow wisdom and wealth are linked. 
The fact is there probably is a link between wisdom and the ability to ensure that one’s provision is well taken care of but that is not the thrust of my musings today.
Whenever I walk on the beach I am drawn to the rocks which are all shapes, sizes and even colours. There are many pools within the rocks which are a microcosm of activity, full of little reef fish, strangely shaped shells with critters inside them moving in slow and stately procession around their world, and occasionally a real gem in the form of a starfish or sea anemone is found.
One day, however, I looked at the rocks themselves.  There is one that is in the shape of an arch which is a tale for another day.  There are those that are covered in old oyster shells.  I would love to know why oysters favour certain rocks over others.  Some are covered in bright green sea moss, and look just like card tables.  Others still are patently full of iron and are a deep rust emphasizing their strength.
And then there are the shapes.  I have seen large and small perfectly rectangular rocks that would make great table tops, or steps.  There are the bricks, in some places thrown together and evoking memories of Robert Frost’s “Wall”.  One set of rocks have been so carved by the waves that they look like an old Greek city, complete with colonnades, columns, villas and streets in miniature!
From the rocks I began to look at the patterns in the sand.  I found herringbone, checks and stripes, bland tartans, so many familiar designs.  The shells add to the whole palette of the beach and prêt a porter eat your heart out for there is nothing there that you designed first!  The only thing is you think you are the designer and are unaware of the master craftsman who got there before you!
I have slowly come to the conclusion that there is nothing that has been thought of, created or evolved, that was not on this earth long before man had the idea. I even found a rock that reminded me of an abstract painting I had once seen!
And so the words: “there is nothing new under the sun” began a merry tune in my mind, until I had no choice but to look them up in Ecclesiastes 1:
9. “That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10. Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.”

I was so excited to find that Solomon, the sage of so many centuries ago, had come to the same conclusion as I and even the thought that my thought was not original did not dampen my pleasure!It was inevitable that my thoughts would then turn back to the link with great wealth that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog.  “All very well thinking you are as clever as Solomon,” a little voice said, “such a pity you haven’t found a way to convert it to wealth as he did.” 

Uuhmm, but the answer to that came almost immediately as I looked at a paper on which were the meanings of my name that was given to me at the Ancient Paths seminar that I attended at the weekend.  One of the supporting scriptures is also from Ecclesiastes a little further on in Chapter 7:

12. “For wisdom is protection, just as money is protection.
But the advantage of knowledge
is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.”