The Boulder
A parable I was once told, a parody of Le Mythe de Sisyphe, with new purpose and meaning, which I now retell in my own way.
A person was given the task of pushing a boulder up a mountain. The challenge was hard. It required a lot of effort, putting constant force against the boulder else precious progress would be lost and the boulder would begin rolling backwards. Any movement backwards would gain downward momentum requiring twice as much force to stop it, change direction and return upward. Time stretched on into months and years. Much progress was made, but the pusher began to have doubts. Doubts about the purpose of their task, doubts about the need for boulders and mountains and especially, the need for boulders at the top of mountains. The pusher would sometimes become tired and sit to rest thinking a few minutes respite might give them the energy they needed, only to find that sitting resulted in the boulder rolling backwards, progress lost. Frustrated by the trees and rocks that were in the way, loose dirt and wet grass that made progress difficult. Eventually a time came when the pusher decided a longer rest would be justified, a little nap might result is some loss of progress but the energy gained would more than make up for it. And so, the pusher drifted off…
Waking up with a shock the pusher realized that more than a little progress had been lost, not knowing how long they had slept. In fact, while the pusher slept the boulder had rolled back many months of progress. Beyond frustrated the pusher decided to give up, exclaiming “they have enough boulders at the top, what difference will one more make? What makes this one so special, nobody will notice or care.” Hours later the pusher had become resigned to their position and sat motionless. Then someone new appeared. “Why are you sitting?” This new person asked. “It’s not worth it.” The pusher replied. “My boulder isn’t special; they don’t need it at the top.” The new person smiled and put an arm around the pusher. “It’s not about the boulder” the new person explained. “It was never about moving boulders to the top of this mountain. It’s about you. Look at yourself now, your arms and legs have grown strong. Your feet are tough and set firmly planted against the ground, you head is held high looking upward. Your eyes are trained and piercing, aware of obstacles and dangers. You have become strong and powerful. The purpose of this task is not what you think, and it does have an end. It is to give you the opportunity to choose. To choose the challenge and become strong, or to stay down at the bottom.” With that the new person went on their way and the pusher sat considering what to do with this new knowledge. Does knowing there is a choice make the task easier? It does if you know what you want, and who you want to be. So, the pusher leaned into the boulder once again, feet dug into the ground, and started pushing.
