Written by Dunja Milenković, Serbia (milenkovicdunja171@gmail.com)
Second year of Medical school in Niš
Sisyphus revealed the secrets of the other gods, so Mercury took him to the underworld, where a stone was already waiting for him. The only way to escape this terrible punishment was for Sisyphus to reach the top of the mountain with the stone. However, every time he almost reached the summit, the stone would fall back down over him, and he would have to return to the bottom. Sisyphus despised the other gods and hated death. He had a great desire for a luxurious life, so this punishment was truly hell for him. Every time the stone fell, he was forced to return to it and start pushing it up from the bottom again.
The myth of Sisyphus is a metaphor for human life. Although it may seem unimaginable that our lives consist of pushing a stone up a mountain, we can compare it to our own business and emotional lives, our goals, and even our everyday routine: waking up, eating, going to school, coming home, sleeping, waking up again… it sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
When people become aware of this, they ask themselves: “Am I wasting my life? Does any of this have a purpose?” People stubbornly try to find their purpose in the universe, but they never find it because it does not exist. Then, they realize that they are powerless, seeking answers in the past, running away from reality and from themselves. At that point, they experience the absurdity and freedom that Camus defined as “a free man, without any predetermined meaning.” We didn’t choose to be born. Like Sisyphus, we are condemned to push our stone every day, and carry our own burden.
Camus used this to illustrate the concept of the absurd, which occurs when a person is unable to find meaning in a world in which they exist. Sisyphus is condemned to repetition and endless effort, yet he must find happiness in the struggle itself: “It does not matter whether the stone is at the top of the mountain. What matters is what you do while pushing it.”
Camus does not deny pain, because pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice, and the very desire to fight it gives it a deeper meaning and significance. As David Budbil said: “Struggle is the price we pay for being alive and free.”
But how can we be happy? To be happy we must honestly see the beauty in the world. In the recognition that life has no deeper meaning lies the beauty of living.
Camus concludes that Sisyphus is happy even though he is condemned to an impossible mission, his work and effort make him alive, and his struggle is the greatest value in itself.
“As a day well spent brings a happy sleep, so a life well spent brings a happy death”, and therefore, we must imagine Sisyphus happy.
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