Sisyphus Must Be Happy
The myth of Sisyphus is this devious king who did a bunch of things to annoy the gods. Gets punished by having to move a rock up a mountain. Only to have the rock fall down once he reaches near the top. Having to start all over again in an endless loop. A meaningless task of hard labour. Eternal misery.
“One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy” is a phrase in Albert Camus’s philosophical essay "The Myth of Sisyphus". It says something that has stuck with me.
We can imagine Sisyphus, not as a figure of despair and anguish, but as a man filled with joy and contentment. Each time he pushes the boulder up the hill, he does so with a sense of purpose and determination. When the boulder inevitably rolls back down, he chuckles to himself, "There she goes again!" and goes after the boulder to bring it back up again.
This also reveals something fundamental about the universe- ‘meaning’. There is no meaning to the universe unless you assign one. Try it. Remove yourself out of it. There is nothing fundamental in the fabric of the universe that says “Yo, so hmmm, I mean I am an electron right? I am cool. I make things work in all kinds of ways. I am important alright?”.
All the meaning is assigned by the observer. The one experiencing the universe at this moment- ‘YOU’. So you can assign meaning in ways that help you live a better life.
The best example of this is finding joy in the grind. Goals are shiny and easy to get behind. Whether it is money or status. But the path that takes you there is often uncertain, filled with hard work or things you don't like doing at all. It is a grind. But the grind need not feel like a grind. The meaning is in your hands.
Just like Sisyphus, you can happily roll the boulder up the hill with a determined smile on your face.