(A task of immeasurable difficulty, for which there seems no end or resolution.)Sisyphus pushing his rock, in punishment.A Tale of Punishment: "Sisyphus was a cruel Greek king who was punished and condemned by the gods to push a large rock up on a steep hill, only to find it rolling back on nearing the top. Ever since, he has been known for pushing the rock tirelessly till eternity..." "They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor."
A Different Take - One of Encouragement: Albert Camus, ‘Myth of Sisyphus’: "Camus imagined Sisyphus smiling while pushing the rock and embracing his situation without thinking of the past or the future. His take was that Sisyphus was unstoppable, he pushed the rock unabated every time it rolled down. He refused to surrender to gravity. Pushing the rock was Sisyphus’ purpose, and no matter how evil he was, he is still remembered for his labor towards his purpose. Without the rock, or the effort, he won’t have been a topic of anyone’s discussion. We are all modern day Sisyphus, we work tirelessly day in and day out. However there is something which we can learn from his story and implement in our lives. We must learn to embrace our purpose (the rock) in life. And once we accept it as the objective of our being, we should give in everything it takes to achieve it. Sisyphus teaches us to never give in to circumstantial disappointments or try to escape from the failures, rather accept failures the same way we accept our achievements. And most importantly, no matter how much we lose in our quest, we must never back down till we fulfill our potential. While Sisyphus was punished for his cruel deeds, we aren’t. And that’s what will bring difference in outcomes we get when we give our blood and sweat into our tasks. Embrace the rock. Be persistent. Work hard. Never give up."
Probably my mental health problems... I feel I've improved since my late teens where I was at my worst, but I can't see any solid end where 'I'll just be good/normal' Feel like I'm left behind on life and I won't be able to catch up but I'll keep on struggling for some time longer
Hi foox (can I call you fooxy? Years ago I named my Netherland dwarf female rabbit Foxy cause she was so spunky and playful but sweety tempered.) I don't want to say anything trite back here. You have a good and reasonable attitude about it. Of course, you just keep trying. Try not to have unrealistic expectations, baby steps and no step too small, and treat yourself sometimes to something fun or nice that you really enjoy. And, you are not alone. We're all trudging along... Do you suffer from anything that would be considered a mental health problem or illness? ↗
Life? Is that too general? Haha... like life in terms of getting to the point where I’m living for myself and not for other people. Just feels like all my hours that I’m awake every day are dedicated to someone else —the owner of the company I work for, my father, my girlfriend. I mean, I get to do things for myself, but not that many, really, and it’s almost never leisurely for me because I’m rushing through it to get back to what I have to do for others. Like I just want to wake up and do what I need to do for myself, and if there’s time left over, sure, I’ll lend someone a hand. But I’ve just been in caretaker mode with no days off for really almost a decade now. I’m just never able to put myself first, and, with the exception of my employer, I really don’t mind giving of myself, I couldn’t stand by and NOT do it... but I’m just tired, man.
I found an old letter from my kindergarten teacher to my parents in a file of my old school papers, and she had mentioned in it that she thought I was very smart and was advanced vs my peers in many ways, but it seemed like it took me a long time to do things, particularly something as pedestrian as eating my lunch. I was kind of refreshed to read that, because I think that’s just who I am and who I’ve always been. I’m slow and deliberate, and I get things done meticulously right, at my own speed. But to me, as long as the end result is correct, the total completion time doesn’t matter. But this world seems like it’s all about getting a lot done, even if fast and sloppy. Everyone claims to be a great multitasker nowadays, but most people I see who claim that are just good at doing a shitty job on a bunch of things at once, lmao. Kind of straying off the path here, but I say all that to say my job is one of those operations that just asks how much you got done, not how well you did it. So I have to run around with my hair on fire all day trying to accomplish everything they think I should be able to do (through some unrealistic expectations on their end, and my slower, more deliberate way of doing things), and often that takes me longer than a normal workday. So I do that, then used to have to care for my lady as she recovers from her illness and MAYBE sneak out to the gym for an hour, and now that her mother retired and moved up here to take over, I immediately moved to my dad’s to take care of him now that my mom is gone. So there’s just been no break. It’s been a little more relaxed at my dad’s, I’ve been able to take up hockey, etc, but now I have all my dad’s chores to do around the house. Yardwork, errands, minor repairs, etc, etc.
I think I just ended up complaining about my life instead of answering the question, lmfao, but I guess that’s just the detailed way of saying my Sisyphean effort has been life itself, forever chasing that evening or that weekend that’s mine and only mine, where I do what I want, when I want. But there’s always work in the way, or my gf’s illness, or my dad’s old-ness, haha. Like I just want that suburban dream where I get to sleep til I wake up on the weekend, maybe I have to mow the lawn or run an errand, but for the most part I’m just laying in a hammock or watching a ballgame, doing nothing and loving it. My actual dream is a little more active, but metaphorically, that’s the goal. But it seems like caring about people gets me into situations that require big sacrifices for long periods of time. I could just leave my girlfriend or let my dad fend for himself, but I don’t live like that. My dad will sadly not live forever, and my girlfriend will happily one day be recovered, so these are temporary situations, but I’m hoping it’s just in my mind that I’m in the Sisyphus role and the next life event pops up and prevents me from living the way I want once again. But it sure feels that way sometimes.
About how animals and nature have just as much right/more to be here, as/than humans do? Think that was it. It was a memorable exchange to me. You were so feisty.
I had two jobs that felt Sisyphean. I'll mention the second one. At 26 years old I was offered a job as a trainee for a large company. The pay and benefits were amazing. I had no idea what I was going until I got some training. Then I was thrown into the deep end. It was Hell and I felt like Sisyphus for over five years. The only reason I managed to hang in there was sheer refusal to give up. I eventually started to figure out what was going on, but it was still a demanding job. Over time, I got it wired and didn't mind it so much. There were a lot of perks. I had to keep pushing that rock, but it became lighter over time. I wound up doing it for 30 years and it payed off.
Right now, the Sisyphian task I engage in is educating myself on domestic and international affairs and trying to get actual truth out to people who know nothing but what they hear on corporate owned media that hides truth and promotes death and destruction by international elites who use the U. S. military as their hit men.
Convincing students that climate change is a truly life-threatening issue. Ironically, the coronavirus has cut back on greenhouse gases so much that it could actually save more lives than it takes in the long run. Which makes Trump a kind of accidental champion of fighting global warming!
Actually convincing myself that I'm not so bad, that I'm good enough, that I can do this. A bit like this tale, sometimes, I feel like I get close to achieving that only to fall back at the bottom of the pit and seeing myself badly.
Yesss. I completely relate. I'll tell you what my mother says, "Progress is unfortunately far from a straight line." It doesn't offer a solution, but it is consolation that we are not alone in feeling this.
I noticed that progress is not to be taken for granted in that case : once you get there, you need to hold on until the progress "solidifies" so that the boulder does not roll down.
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