The Punishment of Sisyphus

 

In Greek mythology Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra (known today as Corinth), had a reputation for being deceitful, prideful and offensive to the gods. After enduring Sisyphus’ bad behavior long enough Zeus sentenced him to push a large boulder up a mountain and over the top. When he got it to the bottom on the other side of the mountain, his punishment would be over.

Unfortunately for Sisyphus, Zeus enchanted the boulder and whenever it nearly reached the summit, it would roll back down the mountain until it stopped at its original starting place. Sisyphus soon realized that his punishment was to be an eternity filled with useless efforts and endless frustration. He came to understand that no matter what he did or how hard he worked, at the end of every day the boulder would be back at the bottom of the mountain. His was a lifetime punishment.

All of us face frustrating challenges, sometimes even lifelong challenges. They can come from an injury or an incurable medical condition, or even as the consequences of our own choices. By and large, the difference between Sisyphus’ challenges and our own is that we are not doomed to an eternity of failure. We may not be able to overcome all of our problems, difficulties, insecurities, and struggles, but we can make progress as we expend effort. None of us has to let our challenges defeat us.

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