"There is but one truly serious philosophical
problem and that is suicide."
This is how Albert Camus starts his essay
The Myth of Sisyphus, in which he explores
the answers for why one should not kill himself
and what he calls "the absurd."
In a world full of formless chaos we strive
to find meaning.
We feel the need to understand, yet there
is only silence.
But even if we discovered that life was in
fact meaningless, there would still be a plethora
of reasons to experience and enjoy life.
Before we go any further, I would like to
direct a few words to the beautiful individual
listening to this, to you.
Most people have suicidal thoughts or feelings
of depression at some point in their lives.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
In times of desparation we aren't weak.
On the contrary, we have come so far and endured
so much.
It is quite understandable that we need to
catch our breath.
We have more burdens on our mind, on our shoulders,
than we can carry at that moment.
We're unable to cope with the amount of pain
that we're suffering.
And it's important to remind ourselves that
suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary
problem.
It is not how bad the problem is, but how
badly it is hurting us.
And we may not believe that we can be helped,
but nothing could be further from the truth.
We can be helped.
It is alright to feel lost.
We don't need to have all the answers right
away.
In fact, nobody really knows completely what's
going on.
I do not know you personally.
I don't know what you're struggling with or
what has happened to you in the past.
I think we've all been in a dark spot at some
point.
A place where we might've thought that there's
no way out or perhaps that noone loves and
cares about us.
Maybe you're in such a place now and you're
feeling an overwhelming amount of grief.
I want you to know that you are not alone
and that it is okay to feel the emotions you're
feeling.
The world can appear very cruel and unforgiving.
I am sorry you are going through pain.
I'm very sorry you've had to go through it
in the past.
My heart goes out to you and maybe things
aren't as bad as you perceive them.
If I may I would like to offer you my help
in the only way I know how, with words of
encouragement that I believe to be as close
to the truth as can be.
I want to tell you about the myth of Sisyphus.
Sisyphus was the cunning king of Corinth in
ancient mythology, who was punished by the
gods for his rebellious nature.
For all eternity he was to roll a boulder
up a steep mountain, only to have it roll
back down to the bottom, when he reaches the
top.
He would hopelessly toil in perpetuity.
In reference to this Albert Camus writes ...
"At the very end of his long effort measured
by skyless space and time without depth, the
purpose is achieved.
Then Sisyphus watches the stone rush down
in a few moments toward that lower world whence
he will have to push it up again toward the
summit.
He goes back down to the plain.
It is during that return, that pause, that
Sisyphus interests me.
A face that toils so close to stones is already
stone itself!
I see that man going back down with a heavy
yet measured step toward the torment of which
he will never know the end.
That hour like a breathing-space which returns
as surely as his suffering, that is the hour
of consciousness.
At each of those moments when he leaves the
heights and gradually sinks toward the lairs
of the gods, he is superior to his fate.
He is stronger than his rock."
He is superior to his fate, stronger than
his rock!
Sisyphus' punishment is, as Albert puts it,
"representative of the human condition."
When we compare this tale to our own lives,
it is not hard to see the similarity.
We begin rolling our boulder up a steep hill
every Monday morning.
On Friday evenings we reach the summit, the
boulder rolls back down within moments, but
we have the weekend to reflect, as we're walking
back down.
It is just that most of us rather find comfort
in distractions.
The last thing we want to think about is Monday
morning and the task of pushing that heavy
rock uphill lying before us without any certainty
that we will ever find an escape from it.
You can choose, although it's not perceived
as a choice by most, to continue to be a slave
to your rock or you can choose to look at
your struggle from a different perspective,
in which you accept the absurdity of life
and the fact that struggle is always going
to be a part of it and thus become the master
of that rock.
Suddenly, it's not you pushing that boulder
uphill, it's the boulder pushing you.
"The struggle itself toward the heights is
enough to fill a man's heart.
One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
You want to stop looking at things so gravely.
When you're going through pain, when you're
struggling to get by, when you try so hard
to push through any hindrances and there seems
to be no hope of success or positive change
... I'd like to offer you the approach Sisyphus
takes.
Accept the situation... that's the first thing.
Acceptance of the present, no wishful thinking,
no victim mentality, no mental escape to past
and future.
You choose to be stronger than your rock.
You hold your head high, because you are not
defeated.
By embracing the present as your decision
to face life's hardships head on is a victory
in itself.
Happiness lies in movement, in constant growth,
it's not a destination.
When you think you need x, y or z to be happy,
you won't be.
It's nice to strive toward things.
It's beautiful to dream big, but your happiness
comes from being on and appreciating the journey.
Struggle and pain makes you a stronger person.
You find opportunity in obligation.
You are free to fail.
You can even find hope in hopelessness.
Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, has shown
that's possible.
You will have to work as hard and as smart
as you can.
Success isn't guaranteed, but so what, at
the very least try, then try again unlimited
times.
Only death is certain.
You live once.
Don't throw that away.
Have you seen what kind of people are running
for president these days?
We need you.
"What would have become of Hercules do you
think if there had been no lion, hydra, stag
or boar - and no savage criminals to rid the
world of?
What would he have done in the absence of
such challenges?
Obviously he would have just rolled over in
bed and gone back to sleep.
So by snoring his life away in luxury and
comfort he never would have developed into
the mighty Hercules.
And even if he had, what good would it have
done him?
What would have been the use of those arms,
that physique, and that noble soul, without
crises or conditions to stir into him action?"
- Epictetus
The next time you feel like life is getting
a bit too difficult, think of Sisyphus, think
of his condition ... and remind yourself that
he is happy.
___
"Everything can be taken from a man but one
thing: the last of the human freedoms—to
choose one’s attitude in any given set of
circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
When we are no longer able to change a situation,
we are challenged to change ourselves.
Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
- Viktor Frankl
