Dispirit

I’m dreaming, and in my dream someone pulls me away from someone else while saying: “don’t talk to him, he’s a Dispirit”.

Dispirit?

I awake to the dogs circling the bed doing their breakfast-time dance. Even though the clock says it’s only 5:12 a.m. their internal clocks say 6:12 a.m. and thus 12 minutes past feeding time — geez I hate time changes, and while I do prefer the “fall back” variety if they have to happen I wish they’d just stop already. Anyhoot, as I wander downstairs to feed the dogs I’m thinking about the word dispirit. Was I misremembering it? Did I mean, say, desperate? Disparate? No, no, I tell myself, the word was definitely dispirit, with a capital D even. Dispirit.

Dispirited, even dispiriting, those are adjectives I’ve heard, even used. But dispirit, well that’s more of a verb. And then: as a proper noun?

So, I look it up.

Google says:

dis·pir·it

dəˈspirit/

verb

1. cause (someone) to lose enthusiasm or hope.

   “the army was dispirited by the uncomfortable winter conditions”

   synonyms:

   disheartened, discouraged, demoralized, downcast, low, low-spirited, dejected,downhearted, depressed, disconsolate

I read this and smile. This plays nicely into something that was floating in the recesses of my brain, and especially as I now plan to put it to use – as a proper noun.

I’ve always admired how we can give the mind a task to do and it will continue to process it even while we sleep.

Dreams, gotta love ’em!