Play along with me.
Imagine things have not gone well. In fact, you are serving a life sentence in a strange, outdoor prison, alone with no escape possible.
You perform the one job required of you. Push an enormous boulder up to the top of the hill, from which it will fall back to where you began.
Repeat, repeat, repeat without end.
You may recall the character so condemned is named Sisyphus. In Greek myth, this man alienated Zeus and was assigned the pointless, eternal task as punishment.
Yet there is another take on the poor fellow’s desperate state. It is the perspective of Albert Camus, a French writer, philosopher, journalist, and political activist.
Camus believed life to be absurd, absent certainty of its meaning. To him, faith, by itself, was not enough to still the trepidation of the human heart.
Since the universe offers no answer to the question, what remains is our instinctive desire to live and create a life worthy of living.
The Frenchman encourages us to revolt against routine. Given the absurdity and meaninglessness, a human’s best adaptation is to embrace life creatively, striving for authenticity despite all else.
Thus, Camus’s view of Sisyphus is that he must rebel in opposition to the intended aimless and soul-killing routine of his punishment. In doing so, he may yet overcome internally that which cannot be overcome.
The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
We are encouraged to seek our own purpose and joy, as this prisoner might have. Our task is to set aside the quest for direction from above, as well as the misguided pursuits we sometimes impose on ourselves.
One could stop consideration of Sisyphus right here, but another person offers a different perspective. Woody Allen, whose interviews and movies often explore the question of life’s meaning, didn’t think Camus’s solution to Sisyphus’s dilemma was sufficient.
Woody wondered what the rock-roller would do if somehow, the imposing boulder reached the top of the hill and got stuck.
To Allen, Sisyphus would then face the same conditions we all do. To find a way through the thicket of life in the hope of giving each day value.
Allen believes each of us faces the Sisyphian challenge, but without the massive stone. For him, the question of meaning and animating our lives to defeat routine is always present.
Thus, we search for fulfillment, making of life what we will. The unanswered questions remain.
Why, for what, to what end?
These questions offer us a blank slate we might think of as an opportunity.
For reasons we cannot be sure of, we have been dropped into the thing called life. Our only certainty is that it will terminate, but its ending urges us to make the very best of it every day.
==========
The painting at the top, Yellow, Red, Blue (1925), is by Wassily Kandinsky. It is followed by Sisyphus by Titian (1548-1549). Both are sourced from Wikiart.org.
my goal it to enjoy life a bit each day as long as I am alive
A worthy goal, Beth. Thank you.
What a wonderful take, Dr. Stein. I think I inadvertently came to the same conclusion as Camus on my own journey. Sometimes when life is too absurd or painful to be (or at least feel) inherently meaningful, we must paint a purpose over the suffering… and interesting, I don’t think it’s illuding oneself, but instead taking the clay and reshaping our reality. What great food for thought on this Sunday morning.
Thank you, Erin. Yes, reshaping the world and creating something of value in it. You have rolled the rock and know well the suffering of Sisyphus.
“…dropped into this thing called life…”
I love that phrase, Dr. Stein and this, too, encouragement to find meaning:
…”seek our own purpose and joy…”
So good! I agree with Erin – thank you for this Sunday morning inspiration. 💝
You are welcome, Vicki. Like Erin, you know more than most the challenge and persistence of creating purpose and triumphing when darkness says otherwise. Thank you.
My pleasure…thank you again. 💝
Funny how we look at Sisyphus and think his punishment is absurd, that something would never happen to us, yet here we live lives where we are obligated to go to a job daily to earn money in order to pay our bills. We do this daily because few of us have wealth that would allow us to step away from the day to day challenge, for we pretty much all live paycheck to paycheck.
In North America we glorify this work, we live to work, whereas in other countries they work to live.
Here we’ve embraced our obligation to work and even require interviewees to research a company and come up with very plausible reasons why we want to work there instead of other places. The answer:because I need a paycheck” is frowned upon, because it shows we aren’t committed to playing the game.
What if we didn’t have to work because we came into money? Many people would then choose to live a life of idleness, only pleasing themselves.
Old money learned to find ways to occupy one’s time, so many became philanthropists. Some put in the daily work of volunteering. Some made things or invented things.
In our world we’re pretty much all Sisyphus, but we don’t realize it, or we do, then put our heads down to continue the work required of us, because such is our lot in life, myself included.
Camus would applaud your perspective, Tamara. You captured our world well. Thank you.
Very thought-provoking, Dr. Stein. The lives of the ordinary man is not much different than that of Sisyphus. In the world we’ve created for ourselves, the majority of us are trapped in the daily toil of making a living to stay alive. We can revolt against routine. We can find creative ways of making each day more meaningful, more purposeful, more joyful. We can even exploit the system of rewards and punishment for personal enrichment. We can even create our own alternate reality. As I see it, what determines our course of action is the realization that nothing is permanent. Every situation, in all its deviations, will come to an end at some point in time.
You describe the dilemma of everyman and woman, trapped, as you suggest, in his own Sisyphusian daily routine. Like Tamara and Erin, such wisdom comes of hard experience. We can only martial our will and create meaning, as you have in your own life. Thank you, Rosaliene.
🙂 <3
I’m with Vicki Dr. Stein. Love your phrase: “dropped into this thing called life…” It really is a great way of describing our search for meaning.
Glad you liked it, Brian. If I recall correctly, the phrase is pretty close to one used by Martin Heidegger, a famous 20th century German philosopher, who was also a mentor and lover of Hannah Arendt. Thank you.
I just made the Best of Live in the past few days, dottor Stein, and bound to a word in your text, no hasard, the word “France”: yes coming back right now from Paris la merveilleuse, an 8h train’s journey back home. This offers me plenty of time to read you, and comment.
Attended a concert in the mythic Salle Cortot, imagine, dottor Stein, Salle Cortot!
Only discovering the pictures of the greatest possible musicians of the past on the hall walls left me in awe, making me almost faint…
Cortot himself, the flamboyant Samson François, Marguerite Long, Wanda Landowska, Jacques Thibaud and composers Fauré, Ravel, Messiaen, Prokofiev!
A most dear friend of mine was performing as first violin in a Schumann’s quintet. What a joy, my first time in the Salle Cortot!
On Sunday I attended a magnificent Mass in Saint-Eustache’s Church, a special rich mass because dedicated to the day’s saint, Saint Hubert, patron of Hunters.
A choir and winds small orchestra, men and women dressed in true old hunter’s costumes loudly joyously accompanied all anthems.
Five priests, incense, candles, an incredibly intense ceremony. And a full full full church who was participating with a profound fervour, no seat free!
The Bible’s text of the day was, guess? Jesus hunting the Pharisees from the Temple.
Simple beautiful omelia.
IT HAPPENED AGAIN. DISCOURAGING…
Just lightly brushed my smartphone and, pfuitt! cancelled the long text in English I so carefully digited, not an easy task in a language which isn’t my mother’s one!
Don’t know why it happens so easily on your blog, dottor Stein… Well, it’s not the blog, I belueve it’s your host.
PART TWO:
I attended the Mass in Saint-Eustache because wanting to listen to the organist, a young, scandalously young organist, magnificently talented, discovered by hasard on You Tube months ago.
He was performing an organ-recital later after the mass.
No words to tell you how scandalously beautiful. Goosebumps from first note ’till the end.
And if during the mass my eyes were wet, they were too listening to Thomas Ospital.
Check him on You Tube, dottor Stein, la prego.
I’ve seen he is sometimes performing in the USA and other foreign far away countries, you may be lucky enough to attend one of his concerts live!
PART THREE:
So many appealing painting-photos-movies-art as well as botanical exhibitions in Paris!
Impossible choices!
Anyway choose a two hours long asphalt-walk to attend a Georges de la Tour special exhibition.
Almost three hours standing outside, an interminable queue, and one more hour to wait, so tired I decided to visit instead, two more asphalt-walk! a Pierre Soulages chalk, walnut stain and charcoal drawings.
(Queue again but lesser long).
Heart stop beating…
I remembered how impressed and touched I felt to discover Soulages’ stained glasses in Conques cathedral.
Check! Check! Check!
Many more, all sorts of, marvels during my visit in Paris…
Here I will stop.
Made the Best of Life.
Seen again one of my best friends.
Your time in Paris sounds wonderful. The venues equally so. Thank you for recommending Thomas Ospital. May you have many such holidays! Thank you.
Great timing, Dr. Stein. In times like the one we are living in, it’s good to be reminded of what truly matters. “Why, for what, to what end?” are excellent questions, and your closing, “For reasons we cannot be sure of, we have been dropped into the thing called life. Our only certainty is that it will terminate, but its ending urges us to make the very best of it every day.” was a perfect way to end the post.
This morning, I was reading Enchiridion, the part where Epictetus discusses the need to understand the “true nature of things.” He reminds us to “love with awareness — deeply, but without illusion or clinging. Appreciate what you have while you have it, knowing it’s not truly yours to keep forever.” Yes, let’s make the best of each day.
What an interesting scene from Hannah and her sisters. Love your observations that the questions offer a blank slate we might think of as an opportunity. So much wisdom in that!
Glad you have the ability to enjoy Woody Allen’s genius, despite the questions about his moral character. His take on the story of Sisyphus is provocative and opens the door to questioning. Of course, Socrates is #1 in the questioning department, but I’m afraid he is unavailable for your podcasts!