Rolling the stone

I just finished reading the book "The Age of Absurdity: Why modern life makes it hard to be happy"

The book covers a lot of different subjects from consumerism and unbridled desire for everything (and then the disappointment once you have it) to poignant subjects such as the rejection of responsibility. The book also covers modern interpretations on love, work and death.

Following a terrifying chapter about death, I finished it with the summary of the book. More or less, the author's message is that happiness is derived from struggle: that if you are always striving towards something, you will be happiest then. Throughout the book the example of Sisyphus and his eternal struggle to push the stone up the hill is referenced as a metaphor for the happy life.

I won't summarize the whole book here, but finishing reading it at the point when I moved from Lithuania back to the west was perfect timing. While going through it, I started to be able to qualify the feelings of happiness and contentment I had in Lithuania.

The country is quite basic, for lack of a better word. Everything is as it was many years ago, except for technological advancements. In Lithuania they do not suffer from many of the ills that the western world does such as the habit of shirking personal responsibility (for example no one would EVER claim there that they are fat because of a genetic disorder. They would take full personal responsibility and say they ate too much and did too little exercise).

They also have enough to do in their everyday lives to keep them occupied. Doing mundane things like walking to the shops instead of driving and washing the dishes by hand keep you occupied and you don't get bored.

In Sweden I have already noticed that I have too much time on my hands. I cook and then all I have to do with the dishes is throw them into the machine and when its full press the button. Not exactly new technology I know, but I haven't lived with this luxury before.

I guess the thing is that Lithuania is a good place to live because there is always a bit of struggle. You don't have time to sit around and wonder about things because you are always busy just trying to keep up.

Its a very hard subject to write about — to fully explain what I'm trying to say would take two or three books and then some — so I'll just leave it at that for now. Read the book, maybe you will get what I mean...

The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes it Hard to be Happy