Rolling stones…

Sisyphus must have known he was buggered the minute he looked at that boulder. The son of kings and a king himself, we can thank Sisyphus for bringing commerce into the world. Surveying the global financial fallout, it’s no small surprise to learn that this mythical Greek was a greedy, lying, niece-fucking son of a bitch. That’s when he wasn’t busy murdering merchants and travelers, stabbing his brother in the back or sticking one in Zeus’ eye.

The swine had it coming to him. So when that massive rock rolled down the hill and landed in front of him, he must have known he was one step closer to hell. Let’s face it, there’s got to be no crueller purgatory than the desperate sweat of shouldering a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again. Never getting to the top of the peak, yet repeating the same trick day in and day out for eternity.

The Sisyphean dilemma sounds like insanity. Despite this most of us willingly shoulder the boulder. Enslaved to a bond; car instalments; medical aid; debt repayments or Edgar’s six month, interest-free payment plan; we reach for the rock and walk the mountain. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. This while the sky yawns above us, and a fantasy of freedom beckons on the other side. 

Only the psychotic, illumined or gifted few give up. For the rest it’s the daily grind of pushing our way closer to the top of our failure, while convincing ourselves we are striving for success.

Perhaps the trick is one of perspective?

Which is what makes Albert Camus is the legendary genius he is. In his philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus Camus posits: "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

It is only, Camus says, by acknowledging the absurdity or our situation that we can march towards death – shoulder to the boulder - with a smile on our face.

Art by summitstudios at deviantART.

Comments

[Mandy de Waal]

@Morts: Ha. I reckon you get gifted every now and again ;). And you're so right about the material influence. Primal almost, but so unnecessary. There's great beauty in embracing the flow. And those emotional boulders. Feckit. I tell you I am trying to lay them down. Just lay them down.

@amandzing: For sure. Anything lighter and more playful.

[amandzing]

lol! or, we could forget about the damn rock and find something that makes us happy...

[morts]

I'm not comfortable with illumined or gifted - but I'm down with psychotic!

I guess I'm carrying a lighter boulder in the material sense - but it isnt easy to pass the big ones by. We're all compulsive magpies at heart - breastfed on the materialist tit. I'm trying though.

I'm less adept at playing shotput with the emotional boulders - always willing to swap my load for a weightier one.

ah heck. humanness. it can be quite trying.

[Mandy de Waal]

Eish babe. We're all pushing a rock somewhere, sometime.

[Dolce]

Get out of my head de Waal. Eina.