Lessons from Sisyphus
It's how you see it.
I’m not sure when I first heard of Sisyphus. I recalled that it was about some ancient mythology and some poor fool that kept pushing a boulder up a mountain, but could never put it at the summit. A once dear friend, deceased, was a scholar in ancient Greek literature. I wish I could have him here to read to me the story of Sisyphus while I understood not a single word. He allowed me to sit in one of his graduate tutoring sessions. There was something very special about hearing a language that for us vast majority is truly dead. I digress.
My first recollection of Sisyphus created a strong visual image. It has lingered for many years. From the little research that I have done, that holds true for many people. Why? My belief is that many of us can relate to it.
A quick background check gives credence as to why he was condemned to such an unobtainable goal. Sisyphus was a nasty, pathological narcissists! He was king of Ephyra (Corinth, today) and took pleasure in killing his house guests to exhibit his dominance and power. Zeus, the chief god, did not take kindly to this sort of behaviour. He banished Sisyphus to Hades, home of the underworld. Obviously, the good times had ended for Sisyphus. As you know by now, he was condemned to pushing a huge boulder up a mountain side and, if successful, regaining his kingly life by depositing it at the summit. He repeatedly tried to reach the summit and failed each time. Alas, it was not to be.
If you take the time to open the Wiki-link at the end of this piece, you will gather more information about how Sisyphus has become a metaphor in so many ways. It’s not a big stretch to imagine what it must be to try over and over again to attain a personal goal, but never “grasp the brass ring”.
There is never only one interpretation of an image: that one of Sisyphus (seen above) is no different. I’m going to take a shot at naming just a few lessons that come to mind. If you are reading this, you may have more to add.
· Doing the same thing over and over again and having no success makes no sense.
· Brute strength is not enough.
· Try and try again, eventually you will succeed.
· We are doomed to making the same mistakes over and over.
· Don’t give up; you will eventually achieve your goal.
· If Sisyphus had done the math he would have given up after his first attempt.
· Greek mythology is a lot of B.S.
Further reading, and more citations included.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus
Best wishes and, hold onto your healthy spirit.
Zack Florence