Pushing the Rock Up the Hill

And watching it fall.

Over and over again.

That is the fate of Sisyphus, condemned by the Gods.

This is the fate of many Humans, condemned by reality by simply being.

Everyday we wake up. Everyday we get dressed. Everyday we start our day and trudge into it. Everyday we persevere through the ticks of the clock and the passing of the hour. Everyday we get over the hump and watch the day close. Everyday we fall to bed knowing that it will start again.

We are pushing ourselves up the hill of our lives and then watching it fall back down again.

Then we do it again.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

One could wonder whether life is the same. Going day by day over and over again — but do we expect different results? Do we really think that today is going to be so much different than the last?

For the most part, probably not. There are days we know and anticipate to be special. Days where things of importance, birthdays, celebrations, import career milestones, and other things are happening. Days where that are planned to be special. Days that we try to make different than all the rest.

But those days are few in number. For good and for bad. Monotony and routine can be comforting. But it can also be limiting. As with all things, there needs to be a balance.

What that balance is depends on each of us. But the balance has to be owned. It has be owned because it is what we want and not what is made for us.

The daily grind can be awful. It can be akin to a punishment. The only way to get to what we desire. But it can also be liberating if you understand yourself and understand what you can change.

Sisyphus may have been forever doomed to push a rock up a hill and let it fall down, time after time, but we are not him.

We can make our own doom. We can make our own salvation. We do not have to allow ourselves that fate if we do not want to. We can strike for something more or be content with what we have. We have choice. And that is what makes the difference.