The article How to Find Joy in Your Sisyphean Existence is quite an exciting story. I’m sure you’ve heard of this story, but this article puts a new spin on how I think about it now. If you haven’t heard of this story, it’s about Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra, who cheated death twice and angered the gods very much. They take revenge by condemning Sisyphus to eternal torment in the underworld. He would have to roll a massive boulder up a hill, and when it reached the top, the stone would roll back down to the bottom, and he would have to repeat that process forever. That sounds crazy. That punishment seems like a lot. Something interesting that put a spin on this article about how the writer talked about “Sisyphean” might be labeled as any task combining boredom, struggle, stress, and futility. It’s like something that is repetitive and boring in a sense. For example, we eat every day because we get hungry constantly and get dirty to shower again. It’s a never-ending cycle that we have to endure. The whole school’s philosopher and father thought this story was very absurd because of the unspeakable penalty that Sisyphus had to go through.

Times are changing, and people are thinking differently. That’s just how we humans adapt and evolve as time goes on. Suffering and unhappiness are the main themes of life in mostly all philosophies. Buddhism believes that life is suffering for you to reach happiness. The writer of this story kind of likes the idea of the constant unhappiness theme and uses it to create the myth of Sisyphus. He argues that “human beings regularly experience true happiness.” (Buchczik 2) I WAS IMMEDIATELY SHOCKED when I first read that because many people can’t always experience regular happiness. It isn’t easy. For example, I feel like people who are homeless and have lost everything can’t experience true joy because of how they live and all the terrible things they are going through. Also, I wonder how people who got diagnosed with a terminal illness can be happy with hearing that and live their life happily ever after with that news. That phrase, to me, is a very bold statement.

I found some information from the Tonic Wellbeing website that stood out. It talks about how happy people get caught up in bad things that lead to them being stuck in that hole of sadness for the rest of their lives. It says that harmful addictions can be destructive, “Most things are good in moderation – food, a drink or two, entertainment… when these things take center stage in our lives, it becomes a problem. Unfortunately, many good people have met their end through addictive habits, especially through dependence on alcohol and drugs.” (Tonic Wellbeing 1). This website shows that sometimes there are situations that are sometimes impossible to get out of and ruin that phrase that “humans regularly experience true happiness.” But something interesting that was said in the article is that the writer of How to Find Joy in Your Sisyphean Existence article is at odds with most philosophers because of his way of thinking. He believes that if embracing the ridiculous seems impossible to you, it’s because of your pride. He thinks that most people refuse to be happy. I believe that in some cases, it’s true, but not in all. Many people are forced into bad situations or just given them in some circumstances.

Another thing I found on the Tonic Wellbeing website is that the past can cause many regrets, “Regret is not only useless, but it can also be extremely harmful. Research continues to show that repetitive, negative thoughts about decisions made in the past in often a precursor to chronic stress and depression.” (Tonic Wellbeing 1). This is a huge reason people are unhappy because they can’t change their permanent past. But the article makes a perfect point: “When you can’t change the world, change your feelings” (Buchczik 3). That line stood out to me because I feel like that can have those people who are unhappy look at life more as the glass half full rather than half empty. You have to be fully present with yourself, just like how Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra, was. He was twice happy with cheating death and didn’t care what they thought. He knew that punishment was possible, but he chose to ignore it. And that’s what a lot of people do with happiness sometimes. They ignore it. They decide not to care about it and keep letting the sadness build up. Overall, you may disagree with the Sisyphus article, which is okay. You’re entitled to your own opinion and your thoughts.

This story is ancient, and people have started to think differently about it over time. But there was a cosmic purpose to the philosopher’s work. He wrote it as a message to have meaning for all readers. Some quotes to live by and keep you motivated are sometimes needed in life to keep people happy. There is nothing wrong with them, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” (Zig Ziglar 1). Also, If you believe something needs to exist, if it’s something you want to use yourself, don’t let anyone ever stop you from doing it” (Tobias Lütke 1). On my bad days, as well as yours, we face huge boulders that we can’t face pushing up that hill. It can be a repetitive cycle we want to get out of, but we need to turn to people we love and trust to help us. Don’t let the boulders take you down, be the change, and you take them over.