How Epigraphs Shape Our Lives

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand,

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour."

—William Blake

“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

—Albert Camus

When you think of your life as a story, what would be your epigraph? An epigraph is often an overlooked literary element, but a simple one: it is the quote that at the beginning of a book, or sometimes a chapter. To think of your epigraph might seem like an unusual question, but as I'll argue, one well worth asking. Above, is mine. The first is the opening stanza of William Blake’s poem “Auguries of Innocence,” and second I have Albert Camus’ famous statement “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

Separately, these quotes embody some of the foundational ways I see the world. “To see the world in a grain of sand,” to me, is a skill we should all strive to practice. Through learning and thinking, one can better understand how a single event is a single piece that fits into a much larger puzzle. Practice this skill long enough, and you’ll see how this one piece is an entire puzzle in one piece, as much as it is one piece of an entire puzzle. This might sound abstract, but holds practical merit. For me, I’m always trying to understand how I can better embody my worldviews into my actions, and in turn, understand how my actions shape my worldview. As a climber, I’m thinking how my beliefs can be seen through my climbs, and in turn, how my climbs shape my beliefs. As a writer, I try to embody my ideas of the world in a single article, and in turn, see how my words shape my outlook.

Discovering Camus’ sentence “One must imagine Sisyphus happy,” quite literally changed my life. Since I was young, I always believed in doing hard things. As a teenager, I took this in a physical sense by pushing my body to run ultra-marathons since I was 14 years old. Now in my twenties, I still believe in doing hard things, but in a holistic way. Intellectually, I’m always reading and thinking of ways I can expand my worldview. Academically, I’m studying in the nation's number one public university, University of California, Berkeley. Physically, ultra-running eventually gave way to climbing, where I now primarily climb mountains and big walls. To better help the environment, I’ve been working with the non-profit group, Save Mount Diablo.

But how does this relate to Camus’ quote? The first noble truth of Buddhism is that life is suffering. One of the only certain things about life is that it will be hard, so one might as well embrace it. One is faced with a choice very much like Sisyphus who has to roll the boulder up for eternity: one can either grudgingly accept their fate, or embrace it with a smile. I think my early belief to ‘do hard things’ is the equivalent of imagining Sisyphus happy, and to embrace the hardships of life.

Epigraphs are one of the most overlooked literary element, and more often than not, books won't include one. I've always found the relationship between an epigraph and the story that follows to be one of the most interesting dynamics in the written world. The beginning quotes can almost always be understood at face value, and they can be great at encapsulating the story's tone and themes but can never capture the whole essence—otherwise, why would anyone ever read past the first page of any book? As you flip forward and dive deeper into the story, the epigraph grows and matures alongside the story. They have a reciprocal relationship, giving each other greater meaning. To bring back Blake, the epigraph is the grain of sand that is the world.

Thinking of your epigraph may seem like an impossibly daunting question, but that's just the point. How can you capture your life in a quote or two, or to bring back the recurring motif—capture your world in a grain of sand? It's a task that prompts a healthy introspection into one's beliefs and values. So what would your epigraph be?