The Myth of Sisyphus

One of my favourite stories is that of the myth of Sisyphus. A Greek hero who defied the gods so much so that Zeus issued a terrible punishment: to push a bolder up a hill only to have it roll back down again for all eternity. The twisted idea behind this story is that the ultimate punishment for an individual so brazen as to defy the gods is that of endless labour for no reward. An eternity of meaninglessness… However, this story doesn’t have to end up being all doomy and gloomy. A French philosopher called Albert Camus wrote a phenomenal piece of work based around this Grecian hero (I guess) and how his suffering equates to modern life. Camus was an existentialist. An exceptionally cheery group of angsty Europeans who believed we were condemned to be free within a life that has no pre-given meaning. By this they mean, yes, we have the luxury of freedom to choose our path in life, but that the sheer volume of possibility laid out before us can be itself be a daunting and existentially crippling scenario to engage with, particularly because we are dealing with the meaning of life here! Camus advanced upon this notion with his expanse of the Myth of Sisyphus. He has indeed been forced to an eternity of a meaningless existence but, following that, the ultimate form of rebellion would be to find happiness in the meaninglessness. By finding his own way to enjoy the struggle, Sisyphus can offer one last eternal middle finger to the god who condemned him to his fate.

Although this story enticed me for its encouragement of a rebellious spirit within the original rock star of Sisyphus, a deeper reading allowed me to find a more personal relationship. We exist before we construct our essence and that essence is the consequence of a lifetime of choice. Much like Sisyphus’ state, we are forced to struggle though life in what could potentially be a fruitless endeavour, never being rewarded for the constant hard work we put into it. However, if we learn to love the struggle we learn to love not the result, but the route to getting there. My time at university has indeed been eventful. Through my studies I have travelled to America, made friends and skills that will stick with me throughout my lifetime, and become increasingly more pretentious (in the jokey opinion of my friends back home). But most importantly, it has shown me that meaning and satisfaction aren’t handed to you on a plate. They are the product of effort and energy. I’m not entirely sure what it is exactly I want to place my energy into in this world. But I am very aware that, regardless of what that thing is, to extract all the potential meaning I’ll have to commit my heart and soul to it.

e.