The Myth of Sisyphus on a Friday night

We are like Sisyphus in our daily lives. We start each week at the bottom of the mountain and we carry our burden at work until we reach the peak on Friday night knowing very well that we are going to have to do this again and again (unless we are fortunate enough to be in one of those European countries where everything shuts down in August and we can postpone the inevitable for a little while).
But are we really like him? As I stand on top of the mountain right now and revel in my victory I start to think that he was more cynical than me and perhaps than many of us. He was never happy because he was always all too aware of his predicament.  I am, on the other hand, perfectly content to live for the moment and ignore what will come in two days. It's Friday night after all! Stay tuned for a follow-up on Monday morning and in the meantime enjoy your weekend :)

The Plunge

I still vividly remember that early morning in June 1996 when I took the high-school entrance exam for the American College of Sofia. I remember it all: the nervous walk through the campus before the exam, my squeaky wooden desk and even the smoke that was coming from behind our car as my parents and I drove away after the test (my dad had forgotten to release the parking brake!). Maybe some day those memories will fade away. Or maybe I will simply lose the ability to relate to them and they will turn into paintings that I can never warm up to like all modern art after Picasso. 

Yet there is one thing that I will never forget. I will never forget the mixed feeling of excitement and fear as I was staring at the blank sheet before the beginning of the essay section of the exam. Now, as I face a similar situation, I understand that this was precisely the feeling I needed to have. Any creative act no matter how simple requires you to take a leap of faith in terms of your own abilities. You should be afraid and excited at the same time because that is the only way you will be ready to take the plunge...