Uphill

Albert Camus wrote an essay titled "The Myth of Sisyphus." In this essay, he explored the nature of the plight of Sisyphus. According to Greek myth, Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to eternally push a rock up the slope of a mountain, knowing full well that the rock would roll back down for him to repeat the task. The exact reason Sysiphus was cursed with this punishment is uncertain, but Camus suggests that Sisyphus was dealt this task for returning to earth from the underworld. His passion for life lead to his eternal and monotonous fate in the underworld pushing a boulder up a mountain.

Could there possibly be anything worse than pushing a rock up a mountainside for eternity? Sisyphus has nothing to look forward to and can only reflect on his previous life and failures. After contemplating the situation, Sysiphus may not have it as bad as I thought.

Everyone in life needs a purpose. Young adults often struggle harder to find their calling than they do actually working in school or at their interim jobs. Adults who pick the wrong profession for the wrong reasons lose sleep trying to justify their life choices to themselves. Sisyphus involuntarily has bypassed this struggle to find a purpose. In knowing his destiny, he establishes an identity that he must ultimately be comfortable with because it is so certain.

But what about the real world that is passing Sisyphus by? The real world is overrated. It is filled with uncertainty and chaos.

Camus concludes, "Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy." (I hope Camus is not being sarcastic because I don't think that he is).