Sisyphus and that damn boulder.

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 Hello there (Ewan McGregor voice)


"If there is no struggle, there is no progress" - Fredrick Douglas


We're gonna start today with one of my favorite myths of antiquity, so buckle up kiddos. It's about to get nerdy.


Sisyphus, the clever king of Corinth, was known for his wit and his ways to deceive. He angered the gods by tricking Death itself, chaining him tight and halting life's flow. Even when freed, he outwitted the underworld, escaping his fate with a sly silver tongue. But the gods, not ones to be mocked for long, cast their judgment: an endless toil in the depths of Tartarus.

Now Sisyphus spends eternity bound to a hill, pushing a boulder that will never stay still. Each time it nears the peak, it tumbles back down, mocking his effort with every round. Yet within this tale of labor and strife, lies a whisper of hope: to embrace the climb. For as Camus mused, in struggle we find, a meaning, a purpose, a life redefined.

Philosophical Perspective:

Albert Camus, the French philosopher, famously used the myth of Sisyphus as a metaphor for human existence in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus interpreted Sisyphus's struggle as a symbol of human resilience and the search for meaning. He concluded that we must imagine Sisyphus as happy, finding fulfillment in the struggle itself, even if the task appears pointless.

This myth endures as a symbol of persistence, the human condition, and the strength to confront life's challenges.

Thanks for that Chat GPT, you really know how to get the not soo creative juices flowing and it only took me 69 tries to get that paragraph. Nice.

As some of you may be all too familiar with, I was quite the fan of self-imposed struggles. Booze, drugs, and sexy time. Those were my life. Those were my vices. That was my own imposed hell.

These, in and of themselves, could be considered my "boulder" for the past, oh I don't know, 15 years of my life. I used to watch the sunrise more times than I can remember (or care to remember for that matter), lie to family, friends, and co-workers about why I wasn't around or "sick", and was quite literally only interested in myself and my way of living.

I used to happily push that boulder up my lil mountain and could give a fuck less about anything or anyone else.

More on my lil addict brain later this year, that one is gonna take a while to write.

In 5 days, I'll be a month sober and I couldn't be at a happier place in my life. I've replaced my boulder of Columbian bam bam and good ole' Irish whiskey for one made of what I hope are good acts, physical activity, and a life of service to others. 

So, I still have my boulder. I can't escape the "punishment of the Gods" nor the struggle and adversity that comes along with it.

I can find a new happiness waking before the sun instead of falling asleep after it has reached it's pinnacle.

When I wake, I start to push that fucking boulder with all of my might.

And I've got news for you, if I can bounce back from that very dark place I was in, I'm certain that you can too.

So, find your boulder. Strive towards something even if you continue to faulter. Fight to the bitter end. 

Don't give it. 

Failure breeds success and I believe in you.

Now get out there and kick some ass. 

Your lil fuck up,

Dorian

  • What I'm jammin' to today: "Carrying Your Love With Me" - George Strait
  • Context for contexts sake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4pDUxth5fQ
  • A great resource that I draw inspiration from: "Tribe of Mentors" - Tim Ferris 


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