Acedia: The Lost Name for the Emotion We re All Feeling Right Now

Etymologically, acedia joins the negative prefix a- to the Greek noun k dos, which means care, concern, or grief . It sounds like apathy, but Cassian s description shows that acedia is much more daunting and complex than that.

Cassian and other early Christians called acedia the noonday demon , and sometimes described it as a train of thought . But they did not think it affected city-dwellers or even monks in communities.

Rather, acedia arose directly out the spatial and social constrictions that a solitary monastic life necessitates. These conditions generate a strange combination of listlessness, undirected anxiety, and inability to concentrate. Together these make up the paradoxical emotion of acedia.

via getpocket.com

Fortunately, I’m still working my way through gluttony, fornication, avarice, sadness, anger, vainglory, and pride. Honestly, I’m still on gluttony.