Absurdity tends to hurt only if we observe it “from the outside.” For example, when you think about how stupid it is to wash the dishes every day only to find them dirty a little later, imagine the countless washings of dishes that will occur in the rest of your life. One feels more comfortable when facing the absurd in a conscious way.
By Arthur C. Brooks
Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra, was famous in Greek mythology for his cleverness. He was so clever that he cheated death twice, angering the Gods. They retaliated by sentencing Sisyphus to eternal torture: He had to roll a huge boulder to the top of a hill.
Once it reached the top, the stone would roll back down, and Sisyphus would have to start over again, endlessly. Today, any task that combines fatigue, struggle, stress, and futility can be called a “Sisyphean toil.” Think about those who work in customer service companies, who are forced to deal with angry people all day long, while the conditions that create this aggressive customer behavior never change.
But one could also say that our whole life is a Sisyphean torture: we eat to be hungry again, we shower to be dirty again, day after day, until the end of our lives. Absurd, isn't it? Albert Camus, philosopher and father of an entire school of thought called absurdism, thought so.
In his 1942 book, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus identifies Sisyphus as the icon of the absurd, noting that "his contempt for the Gods, his hatred of death, and his passion for life, brought upon him the indescribable doom, on which all being rests, of ultimately achieving nothing."
Change of perspective
It would be easy to conclude that an absurd view of life precludes happiness. But in his book, Camus says that we “must imagine Sisyphus happy.” It may seem impossible, but in fact this unexpected twist in Camus’s philosophy of life and happiness can help you change your perspective and see your daily struggles in a new and more peaceful way.
Suffering and endless unhappiness are understood as the dominant themes of life in both Eastern and Western philosophies. The first noble truth of Buddhism is that life is suffering. Similarly, the 17th-century Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote of our constant unhappiness and our futile efforts to combat it: “Human beings seek tranquility when they are faced with difficulties; and when they have overcome them, tranquility becomes unbearable.” In both traditions, happiness is but a brief interruption in the sad rhythm of life.
Instead of despairing over the futility of life, Camus tells us to accept its ridiculous dimension.
In his book, Camus acknowledges the futility of Sisyphus's task and its obvious parallels to our everyday lives. But he argues that despite the hardships of this world, human beings regularly experience true happiness. In difficult situations, people have love for one another.
They delight in simple recreations. According to Camus, even Sisyphus was happy “because his effort to reach a peak is enough to fill a man’s heart.” Simply put, he had something to keep him busy. This conclusion led Camus to a life strategy that is completely at odds with most existentialist philosophers of the last two centuries. Instead of despairing over the futility of life, Camus tells us to accept its ridiculous dimension. Given the circumstances in which we live, this is the only path to happiness, the most absurd emotion of all.
We shouldn't try to give universal meaning to our incessant routines: shopping, spending, eating, working, pushing our little rocks up our little hills, he says. Instead, we should laugh out loud that everything we do makes no sense, and yet still be happy.
For Camus, happiness is a declaration of existential independence. Instead of advising us to “Don’t worry, be happy,” he tells us to “Tell the Universe to go somewhere else, be happy.” If accepting the ridiculous dimension of this world seems impossible to you, Camus says that it’s only because of your pride.
“Those who put principles before their happiness refuse to be happy, regardless of the conditions that seem essential to them,” he wrote a few years after his essay on Sisyphus. Moreover, “if they find themselves happy, they consider themselves powerless, unhappy, because they have been deprived of their unhappiness.”
The practical advice that follows is clear: if you have an inexplicable moment of happiness in a difficult world, enjoy it without thinking too much about it. We should be able to do better than just rely on calm to reap the benefits of random happiness. The reality is that each of us can consciously apply Camus’s absurdity to create a happier life. Here are 3 practical ways to find happiness in the ridiculous.
Resist fatigue.
When you experience existential unhappiness—a feeling that everything is meaningless—giving up on life may seem like the simplest strategy. But this is where Camus’s call to rebellion comes into play. One cannot necessarily change one’s perception of the world, but as I mentioned above, one can change the way one responds to that perception. Address the feeling of hopelessness with a personal motto, such as “I don’t know what it is, but I know that I am alive in this moment, and I will not lose this moment.” Repeat it out loud so that you fully and consciously understand it.
Look for the opportunity to do something good
The feeling of worthlessness increases when you focus on the big things you can’t control—wars, natural disasters, hatred—rather than the little things you can do. Among those little things is helping others. For example, if your commute is a soul-crushing existential nightmare, don’t whine about the cars parked in front of you. Instead, focus on making room for that poor idiot stuck in the wrong lane who is desperately trying to correct his mistake.
Be fully present in what you do every day.
Absurdity tends to hurt only if we observe it “from the outside.” For example, when you think about how stupid it is to wash the dishes every day only to find them dirty a little later, imagine the countless washings of dishes that will occur in the rest of your life. One feels more comfortable when facing the absurd in a conscious way. / “The Atlantic” – Bota.al
edition
t7 live
