He listens attentively, not in a hurry.

Let's talk about anguish, that invisible weight that weighs down the shoulders of those who run without knowing where.

Anguish is not physical pain, nor is it defined sadness. It is the knot that forms between the desire to control the world and the impotence in the face of it. It is the emptiness that grows when we distance ourselves from reason and allow the noise of the world to take the place of consciousness.

Anguish is not new. The Romans felt it. The Greeks sighed for it. But your time has made it a habit, a silent, constant routine, disguised as normality.

Men and women wake up anxious. Before they even get up, they are already exposed to comparisons.

Social media offers edited lives. Everyone seems happy, successful, unshakable. And you? You look at yourself, miss something, and don't know what.

This anguish arises when you believe you need to be like everyone else. You forget that every path is unique and that virtue isn't measured by virtual likes or applause.

Young people are afraid of failure. Of not finding work. Of not pleasing their parents. Of not knowing what they want.

The fear of uncertainty is ancient, and the antidote is simple. Cultivate a clear distinction between what depends on you and what doesn't. This is the axis of inner freedom.

Anxiety also disguises itself as excess. There are those who have everything—comfort, technology, distractions—but feel an emptiness that can't be filled.

Why? Because they consume without purpose. They run aimlessly. They constantly try to escape silence, when it is in silence that the soul finds rest.

There are exhausted parents, overwhelmed workers, paralyzed students. Everyone wants to handle everything. But you weren't made to embrace the world. You were made to choose wisely what deserves your effort.

When you try to control the uncertain, you demand from the universe what it never promised. And this generates anguish.

Listen. The only freedom lies in caring for what depends on you: your choices, perspectives, and way of interpreting events.

The noise exists, the pressures continue, but you can build a temple within yourself where no anxiety is welcome.

003 On Anguish

The Return of Epictetus - Stoicism 2.0