Are we all Sisyphus's?

There is an older story titled the myth of Sisyphus written by French writer Albus Camus. In this story, he tells of a man condemned by the Gods to forever roll a huge rock up a hill day after day. Then, when the rock eventually toppled and falls down the hill, Sisyphus would then again push it back up the mountain. The only victory Sisyphus ever feels is during that small moment when he has made it up the mountain and it starts to roll back before hitting the bottom. Some people find sadness in the story, looking at this continuous, repeating wheel of nothing. They are ironically criticizing their own life, they too are nothing more than a glorified hamster on a wheel or a Sisyphus pushing a bolder.

Though we are not literally pushing a real boulder, we are all theoretically pushing one. Ask yourself what do you do each and everyday? Do you go to school, work and follow a repeating schedule? Was Camus simply writing a tale about a man condemned by the Gods or rather an allegory to the way of human life? He was speaking to the essential idea that humans are creatures of habit that feed into this monotonous way of life. Camus took a simple story that at face value seemed to be a sad tale, but as we feel sad for this man, we are actually feeling sad for ourselves. The deeper message is what actually matters and Camus hides it rather than putting it in plain sight.

While many may place this as a tale of sadness, during the end of the story Camus reclaims "one must imagine Sisyphus happy." How can a man who pushes a boulder twice his size continuously be happy? Sisyphus is led by the Gods, therefore he sees the bolder has his personal fate and a fate in which he is his own master. Though always hunched over in despair seeing the rock again at the foot of the mountain, his heart is refilled when he reaches the height with the heavy load, finding happiness in the task.

So what do we take away from all this? Why does life have meaning if we are always pushing the same battle, winning and loosing as it tumbles down again? Well there is always struggle in life and we will always be battling, because you can lose some battles and still win the war. We have to be the master of our own fate. As Camus profoundly sounds "There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night." So I dare you to find your sun whatever it may be, to take that boulder in your life and push it up the mountain-- but at the same time be ready to know the night. At the same time I wish you will welcome it.