One of my favourite Greek myths is the tale of Sisyphus, who was condemned by the gods to push a boulder to the top of a mountain, only to repeat the feat again and again after the boulder, giving way to fate, falls back down to the bottom just as he's reaching the top.

Typically, the myth has been interpreted as symbolizing the absurdity and meaninglessness the befalls a life of endless repetition. Wake up, go to the office, perform a series of mundane tasks, go home, go to sleep. Repeat. The temptation is to feel defeated and wonder "what's the point of it all?"

But Albert Calmus, a 20th century French philosopher, saw things differently. He wrote "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" as "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart." In other words, the seemingly pointless tasks that appear to suck the meaning out of life, can actually be intrinsically fulfilling.

As Camus saw it, Sisyphus, realising the absurdity of his task, decided that rather than let himself be exasperated by his cruel fate, he would instead embrace it. By doing so, Sisyphus liberates himself from the torment of nihilism. In the end, seizing hold of his fate, Sisyphus finds fulfillment in the very task that was designed to render his life futile.

As it was, I was looking for a Chinese translation of Calmus' essay, and I found it. It's way above my level, but I thought it would make good reading for you advanced guys.

Here's the link to the Chinese translation:

http://www.douban.com/group/topic/5447363/

Here's the original:

http://dbanach.com/sisyphus.htm

Hope you find it interesting!