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| “Sisyphus” by Tiziano Vecellio. Between 1548 and 1549. Oil on canvas. Available via public domain. |
Following Albert Camus' lead, Radhule Weininger reconsiders the mythical sufferer as a joyful model for us all.
In these unpredictable and possibly perilous times, many of us
experience feelings of heightened anxiety, fear, and even dread.
When I contemplate the committed
people I know working for the well-being of the planet, for healthcare, the
environment, and immigrant rights, I think of Sisyphus. The Greek hero was
condemned by the Gods to do a task for eternity. Each day he struggled to roll
a huge stone to the top of a mountain only to watch it roll back down on its
own weight. Some see Sisyphus as the quintessential sufferer, condemned to
repeating hopeless and meaningless toil.
Like the mythic Sisyphus, many of us
harbor suspicions that the stones we push up the mountain are just about to
roll to the bottom once again. Many of us worry that our acts of engagement may
be futile.
One of the best-known writers to
examine this myth is the existentialist Albert Camus. He proposes an alternate
and inspiring view of Sisyphus. In The
Myth of Sisyphus Camus sees the absurd hero as the one who
defies the gods because they have abused their power. Sisyphus’ punishment for
speaking out is to effort the stone up the mountain. In Camus’ interpretation,
Sisyphus is well aware of his situation, of what led up to it as well as what
his future will be. According to Camus, Sisyphus pushes his stone forward with
an attitude of knowing, dignity, and even joy, choosing to be present to his
task. Knowing that he has no choice other than to shove the stone up the tall
and steep mountain again and again, he uses what choice remains to turn and
replace sorrow with joy.
I see Sisyphus as deeply present
with what is; he embraces the absurd, which Camus saw as the result of our
desire for meaning in a meaningless world. Sisyphus realizes that in tending to
the part, he is tending to the whole. Camus writes “…each atom of that stone,
each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world.” In
engaging with his own world, by showing an attitude of mindfulness, kindness,
and complete presence, Sisyphus engages with the entire world.
On a recent meditation retreat, I
felt myself drawn to reflect on the stone and Sisyphus’s relationship to it. I
kept coming back to a fundamental understanding: As we are taking care of our
personal world with kind attention, we are also taking care of the whole. I
thought of the many people I know who, in the face of seemingly insurmountable
obstacles, give their all to work in some small way to help the world. My
friend Manny Jesus, a retired professor of psychology, ceaselessly tries to
assure the well-being and protection of Mexican-American youths as he engages
in battles with city boards. Terrified about the fate of future generations,
Nancy and seven other mothers get together while their children are in school
to write letters to congressmembers about healthcare, education, and
the environment.
How would it be if they, indeed if
we all, saw this stone in a fresh way? Not as the burden of one Sisyphus
pushing his or her personal stone up the hill, but as the common burden
belonging to all of us, the rough and heavy boulder of our “human condition”?
How would it be if we could, with eyes wide open embrace our “human condition,”
deciding to carry this stone for the sake of all of us? Seeing each small act
as one of compassion and solidarity, of understanding that everybody has the
task of moving the stone of our human condition forward, we give meaning to
our lives.
