In his 1942 philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd. We all know life can be really weird sometimes, but making a whole philosophy out of it? Only Camus is able to do that.

Born in Algeria in 1913, one of the best French philosophers Albert Camus lived in a world torn apart by two World Wars. He was politically active throughout his whole life, recognizing the role of the artist as the one who dares to challenge “every unfinished aspect of reality”. 

Camus’ main interest in philosophy was the absurd. Even though absurd as a philosophical concept was already elaborated by existential philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Camus took the idea of absurd to a whole another level.

The absurd is born when humans try to attribute a certain meaning to the universe. However, the universe doesn’t owe you any explanation and has no obligation to make sense to you. 

So, now that we know that life has no meaning at all, what’s the point of everything? What’s the purpose of life anyways? 

Camus has no intention to lead the reader to suicidal thoughts at all. Instead, he chooses the good old Greek myth of Sisyphus to let us know how beautiful life can be. 

Sisyphus, a Greek mythological figure, was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task: pushing a boulder up a hill, only to see it roll down again. He would endlessly roll the boulder up, without any results at all.

Human ego perceives this story as tragic. Camus comes to an optimistic conclusion: 

“The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

Enjoy what you are doing now. Cherish the moment even if your work seems meaningless. Imagine Sisyphus happy and even in the most absurd moments you’ll always find a glimmer of hope.