As we climb higher, leaving the ground below, a breathtaking view unfolds before our eyes. The feeling is surreal as if we've entered a whole new world. Although the temperature is still low, the sun's rays kiss our skin, providing warmth and comfort—welcoming us into this realm of the gods, a garden of Eden where we are mere puppets on a string. Everyone who lives up here, in their own way, is Adam and Eve. And the snake which eventually tricks them?
It is Life.
I look around and see people in a hurry, eagerly wanting to go down into the valley—to work a living. We come up here in search of escapism, from our work, from Life, from responsibilities—while others go down for that very reason. Reminds me of Sisyphus, the Greek mythological god, who was condemned to face eternal punishment—to repeatedly push a rock up a hill that ends up falling back down. When I read about his story, I see a similarity—with everyone, be it up here or down in the valley, we are destined for a similar fate in Life. We live in the story of Sisyphus every day without knowing it because we conjure value in the things we do every day—although they may end up in vain. Like a child who may not end up how their parents want them or some goals that one spends years pursuing, only to be crushed by failures.
Whether it's my love for cycling or the work I do, I can't help but compare it to Sisyphus's never-ending task of pushing a boulder up a hill. I understand the repetitive nature, but I cannot feel it yet. I am stubborn about my goals, and I pursue them relentlessly. I seek value in tomorrow, like everybody here. If the implication of Adam and Eve's actions is our existence and this world, then the punishment of Sisyphus is our Life and the ambitions that blind us to our own monotony.
In the end, one must imagine Sisyphus happy.