The Modern Day Sisyphus

The Modern Day Sisyphus.
_____________________

In my Dream I'm walking up an
Endless Mountain,..and though
I can always see the top clearly,
I am unable to reach it. I get one
step away, blink, and find myself
at Rock Bottom again. Similar to
a Modern Day Sisyphus spared
the burdens of his ubiquitous boulder.

Such is Mans struggle for Existence,..
an oftentimes meaningless endeavor
where Hope is denied the Pursuer,
and the only purpose seems to be found
in the Struggle Itself; as Man attempts
to open his hungering eyes to the Absurdity
of Life, only to  (eventually) be blinded
by The Darkness of that Absurdity.
__

Thus in order to combat that ever-present,
all encompassing Absurdity, Man has (since
the dawn of rational thought) adopted several
defense mechanisms, and taken many radical
approaches aimed at making Sense of it All.

Some have formed various intriguing (though
ultimately misleading) arguments which propose
a God, or Plurality of Gods and Goddesses
who are in control of Existence..calling the
shots from their respective Heavens and Hell's.
(while often battling amongst themselves for
Supremacy with Man caught in the middle of
their Otherworldly Contests.)

While others have taken a Naturalistic approach,
and decided to reduce Man's Struggle to a more
Deterministic, Evolutionary Battle in which the
strongest organisms with the most powerful adaptive
traits survive, As the weaker (and less genetically
fortunate) perish into extinction.
_

I myself admittedly exist somewhere in between
two metaphysical (and naturalistic) extremes,..
with Absurdity and Chaos serving as the ultimate
governing factors; and while absurdity can never
be explained or predicted by using Reason, (since
it is in essence unreasonable) I feel that it is quite
possible to be reasonable in spite of Lifes Absurdity.
(so long as the reasoner in question understands that
his own personal reasoning does not apply to the
reasoning of other Independent Agents in the World.)

By Reason, I am (in this context) referring to a thinking
agent using their Will to make logical, and rational
deductions based on calculations made between the
immediate evidence of their senses, and inner intuition. (or
choosing the most appropriate course of action based
upon those deductions.) Yet I also take into consideration
that one individuals sense of reasoning could easily
be considered another's folly,..and in this instance right
and wrong are matters of subjectivity which are therefore
left to the perceptions of The Individual Agent..with
no valid standard by which to measure truth outside of
oneself.
_

Being a Modern Day Sisyphus, one must come
to accept as inevitable the Misery and Suffering
of The World, without allowing themselves to fall
into that classic state of Nihilistic Despair which
often comes with such Realization.

For me, I try finding comfort in the Simple Things
in Life, but also have an admiration for the Philosophically
Profound Mysteries which most now overlook, or
discredit because they seem to serve no immediate purpose.

For isn't the mere ability to Question one of the corner
stones of maintaining Hope for a Better Future?... perhaps
somewhere down the line Mans Philosophical Modes of
Inquiry will lead to answers or an advanced method of thinking
which illuminates the Darkness of this World, and lightens
our proverbial "Sisyphean Burden." ?

(making the struggle
itself more enjoyable.)

J.Stephen.H.