Arch Demons

The biggest sin for a faithful wife could be her husband’s dishonesty; but dishonesty is not a considerable sin when it comes to a pair of prisoners. An action is defined a sin or virtue only in the context of the action. If there is a sin which is cardinal to everyone on earth, it could only be demotivation – the act of reducing somebody’s enthusiasm. 

During the nineties, the South African city of Johannesburg was plagued with crime. It was an Indian by name Sanjoy Roy (popularly known as ‘festival guy’, founder of Teamwork - an international event organizing team) who fixed it with a solution. He set up a variety of art centres and art events there. It could change the culture of the city very fast. He says, “People need to let their creativity out.” Sanjoy Roy could prove this in other world centres too. What we need to understand is that unless somebody’s enthusiasm for creativity is appropriately nourished, it could backfire as severe social unrest. It is in this context that I say, demotivation is an offence towards humanity. 

According to Psychologists any child is born with certain aptitudes some of which are powerful enough to fetch him/her a Nobel Prize. Frankly speaking, how many of us look at another person with an eye of appreciation over his/her talents? Truly, it takes genuine talent to see the greatness in oneself. This is the case in most situations. It is here that a small support from our side turns out to be critical for the other. There are exceptions, who strongly believe in themselves and dare to explore their aptitudes. We do not spare them too. We interrupt in their business and remind them that they are chasing an unreachable target. This is something more than demotivation, this is murder of a human spirit in action.

Any achievement is possible only if you have a vision, enough determination, and an endless supply of expendable labor. Once somebody is set with all these, a demotivating action, word or an approach could be like a fire engine set on a burning candle. People say that mad enthusiasts are cracked crackers, while they themselves are always sharp and well loaded. Yeah, it is the same thing that a sharp pencil also would say. All that we need to understand from similar people is that they are never used. It is said that there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots. There are good people who talk about self esteem and positive thinking but only very few speak out on the havoc demotivators do. It is this resistance to expression that spoils family unity and disturbs the society damaging even the nation. A motivating word you speak changes another and modifies the world around too.

Joseph Mattappally