Last night I met Sisyphus. he is the most peaceful man i have ever known. every day he rolls a rock up the hill, only to watch it roll back down, only to have to roll it back up again. sure the first few years were tough for him. he felt angry. he tried to disobey his lot. he mocked the gods and mocked himself. he cried at the futility of his task and his eternal existence. and then it started to fade. he rolled the rock up the hill, and on each successive climb he knew the rock more and more. he noticed when little pieces would chip away, and when the weight would change ever so slightly. he felt the grooves of the path sink deeper and deeper into the hard ground. he noticed each pebble that embedded itself in his foot on the ascent. he relished the walk down from the top of the hill, when he could stretch his tired muscles. he loved every creature that came into his sight, and every season that ebbed and flowed around him. the gods had forgotten about him, and word of this wise man started to spread. i was one of the first few who came to seek him out. we spoke on his descent, and i walked beside him as he strained his way to the top. he spoke little, but i absorbed the calmness and resoluteness that emanated from him. on our final walk down he said
"you know, 20 years ago Zeus watched a day of my labor and he felt pity on me. his grievances forgotten, he couldn't bear to see someone consigned to an endless and superficially meaningless task. so he freed me."
"Then why are you still here?" I cried.
"What Zeus didn't see is that I did not need him to free me. I had been free all along. Now, and always, I live."