I’m feeling acedia

Perhaps the title of this post is all Greek to you.

It should be.  

Etymologically, acedia joins the negative prefix a- to the Greek noun kēdos, which means “care, concern, or grief”.

Of course, the moment that we read that, we might jump to the conclusion about the negative of "care, concern, or grief" to be something like apathy.  Not so.  The author writes that "acedia is much more daunting and complex than that."

So, what does acedia mean, and why blog about that now?

We are trapped in this age of the coronavirus.  We are working from home (if we are lucky enough.)  Sit-down restaurants have become distant memories.  Travel we can only dream about.  Even friends and relations, well, we keep away from them.

In such a setting, it seems like everything is a drag.  Even though we have all the time to do stuff, it ain't happening.  At the same time, months have gone by really quickly.

Acedia.  "We’re bored, listless, afraid and uncertain."

Often we catch ourselves wondering if we are coming or going.  We begin to do something, and soon decide it is not worth the time.  We are all feeling acedia.

John Cassian, a monk and theologian wrote in the early 5th century about an ancient Greek emotion called acedia. A mind “seized” by this emotion is “horrified at where he is, disgusted with his room … It does not allow him to stay still in his cell or to devote any effort to reading”. He feels: 

such bodily listlessness and yawning hunger as though he were worn by a long journey or a prolonged fast … Next he glances about and sighs that no one is coming to see him. Constantly in and out of his cell, he looks at the sun as if it were too slow in setting.

Recognize this emotion now?

Can you do anything about it?

Decrease your engagement with the media.  That itself will do you a lot of good.  Maintain your relationships with the friends and relatives who matter to you.  And, "maintain healthy sleep, exercise, food and drink habits. Keep a journal, too. Research shows that expressive writing helps people process difficult emotions and find meaning."

Blog, like I do.  Eat, drink, and be merry.

Oh, it is totally ok to admit that you, too, are feeling acedia.