Live in the Land of Loyalty

As I sit today in the hospital, I began to think about the word loyalty and what it really means. No, I'm not a patient today but an observer. I have the privilege to see my sister, who was given life by my mother, give life to my mother. Today, my sibling laid under the knife to give her kidney to an ailing woman that for 45 years she calls "ma." She didn't stop there. She went as far as to tell the doctor that if she passed away during surgery, to harvest her organs for mom! Total selflessness was shown by a child who thought of nothing but her love for her mother. I could only stand to the side, watch this act of loyalty, cry, and ask myself why her act is so shocking in the world around us today.

American author Napoleon Hill once wrote: “lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life." Has more conscientious words ever been spoken? I have to admit that most people have a longing for loyalty. Why? Well, because many around us proclaim their loyalty, but it is just a facade. Family, friends, and business partners would have us believe that they would die for us, when the truth of the matter is that they may prove to be the root of our demise. Now, is this to say that we all have to live in a state of paranoia and began to become recluses? No, but this is all being said to make us cautious. We must recognize that not all people who are a part of our life are there for our success. Thus, we see family members and friends suing each other and killing each other by words, deeds, or literally. Our cautiousness should limit our surprise when we see their disloyal actions. But, prepare us to accept that loyalty is not a gene in the DNA of most homo sapiens.

Many say to be loyal means to have an attachment or bond. Some say it is support or sincerity. To me, it is all of those defining synonyms. In addition, loyalty is a single-minded devotion given in purity and trueheartedness. If we can't agree on it's definition, we can definitely agree that it's contrary to the undependability, unfaithfulness, aversion, opposition, and animosity that characterize most today. Therefore, it is safe to say that loyalty is a word variedly defined by many, but stringently lived by few.

Of course, we cannot change others. I know that many believe that they can, but they can't. Not to go on a rant, but those dating each other often see traits they don't like about the other. They go on to marry that person anyway thinking that they can "change" them. How false that reasoning has proved to be. We can only work on changing ourselves. So, let's do that.

All of us have traits that need correcting. The work on ourselves begins today! If we find ourselves resenting the accolades of our friend, why don't we stop, take a deep breath, and join in giving our friend more recognition rather than begin a campaign to annihilate them. If a family member struggles, why don't we stretch out our hand to uplift instead of extend our foot to stomp down. If a business partner is better accepted within the community than we, why don't we use their great traits to better the corporation than to threaten it's ruination by tearing apart the organization through opposition based on insecurity.

We know ourselves better than anyone else. May we make every effort to find the disloyal traits inside of our hearts and replace them with a resolution of devotion, scrupulousness, and trustworthiness that characterizes one as loyal.