Ecclesiastes - Huh?

Ecclesiastes is a confusing book.

Chapter 1, Verse 2:  Everything is meaningless.  

What?

Chapter 3, Verse 1: There is a time and a season for everything.

I really had a hard time understanding Ecclesiastes.  

First, who wrote this?  Was it Solomon?  The first verse starts out with The words of the Teacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem.  The last verse again talks about the Teacher who wrote the Proverbs.  I am pretty sure that would be Solomon, right? But, if it was Solomon, why didn't they just say so?

Meaninglessness is the initial theme of the day.

I just didn't understand what he was trying to say.  If everything is meaningless, why do we try to live good lives?  He says wisdom is meaningless; pleasures are meaningless; toil is meaningless; advancement is meaningless; riches are meaningless.  So what is meaningful, then?  

Maybe meaningful lives are lives that are good and follow God's will without trying to change His plan.

Chapter 3, Verse 1-8:  There is a time and a season for everything.  I had heard that verse before.  Okay, I knew the song based on that verse.  Turn, Turn Turn by the Byrds.  The song just basically repeats this Bible verse over and over.  I always thought of it as an anti-war anthem (the last line is A time for peace, I swear it's not too late which is not from the Bible verse), but was it was more than that?  Was there a Biblical lesson being given in the form of a pop song?  We should take life as it comes, don't try to force it into something else?

Ecclesiastes had a few other "lessons". 

Wisdom is better than folly - of course.  Invest in many ventures (don't put all you eggs in one basket, huh?).  Remember your Creator while you are young.  (You will need these memories to sustain you later in life.)  In other words, build a strong foundation?  There is a common destiny for all - we all will die someday, we just don't know when, so live life well every day.

Maybe I understood more than I thought...