Review Of The Book "Sisyphus" By Verena Cast (Part 1. Who Cheated Death)

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

The book of the Swiss psychotherapist Verena Cast “Sisyphus. Holding and releasing in the middle of life. Through the myth of Sisyphus, the author examines aspects of the life of a middle-aged person (who is in the midlife crisis), the typical experiences of this person: the meaning and meaninglessness of his efforts and life in general, cites client stories from his practice, in which people, like Sisyphus, experienced the monotony of their lives, talks about how they managed to cope with it.

Sisyphus, in addition to being punished by the gods, is engaged in hard and meaningless work that does not bring results, is also interesting because he deceived death itself. The myth of Sisyphus says that he tied the one leading him to the underworld of Thanatos and returned home to the world of the living. And then he deceived death again - telling his wife not to bury her body and not to carry out funeral rites, after which he was again returned from the world of the living. And he was punished precisely for this - for refusing to recognize the natural course of things, refusing to die and successfully resisting dying itself.

An adult who is going through a midlife crisis thinks about exactly this - half of his life has passed, now its second half has gone, and then death … I want to deceive this death itself, for example, live the second half of life somehow differently, radically change everything - family (especially since the children have already grown up), work, profession, city or even country of residence, etc. As if to live another life, different from the first.

The myth is moral - although Sisyphus manages to outwit death, this victory is only short-lived, followed by defeat and cruel punishment. Caste gives examples of other myths of fairy tales in which the hero manages to deceive death, or, alternatively, the devil. However, nowhere does the hero become immortal - death or the devil retreat, but only for a while.

A simple analogy that arises about our life when reading the myth of Sisyphus is repeated actions that do not bring results. And if they bring - then the result is not final, but only for a while. Verena Cast herself writes that the idea of the book came to her while washing the dishes. Indeed, it is impossible to wash the dishes once and for all. Some of our actions, activities in life are repeated endlessly, we do not think about them - we brush our teeth, wash dishes, make the bed. Every day is the same. Normally, a person does not think about it, however, the existing certain violations of this norm give us obsessive-compulsive disorder with obsessive thoughts and actions, obsessions usually with these - daily repetitive actions, and various other disorders.

The myth of Sisyphus is a reflection of this story. The stories of our everyday life, as if devaluing and depriving our life of meaning. Why all this if every day is the same? Endless repetition, at the very end, after a certain number of years, ending in death. How to get out of this meaningless everyday life, perhaps having acquired some sense in all this?

I recall Viktor Frankl, who suggested not looking for some kind of global meaning in life, but finding these meanings in everyday life itself. The same notorious dishwashing - it is done for a reason, it makes sense. Perhaps you are washing a plate after your little child, who is not yet able to do it himself. And the existence of this child, his life and all his manifestations are very important for you, fill your life with meanings. Even if you live alone and wash your plate after yourself, maintaining cleanliness and beauty in the house, perhaps, brings you closer to some kind of Harmony?

One client told me that when he worked as a janitor for some time in his youth, he was inspired by the phrase from "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - get up in the morning, clean your planet. He perceived the area that he needed to sweep as the area of the planet entrusted to him, which he is putting in order. In many ways, it was such a play with himself. But he liked her. By the way, the work as a janitor is grateful in the sense that he immediately sees the result of his activities and feels the benefits that people bring.

Literature:

1) Verena Cast ““Sisyphus. Holding and releasing in the middle of life"

2) Viktor Frankl "A man in search of meaning"

3) Antoine de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince"

(To be continued)