Loyalty

"Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart-the center of self-respect and human dignity.
It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it-and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal."

Maurice Franks

As I grow older I realize that so many concepts are interrelated and correlate directly with one another. Therefore the beliefs you have in one idea can directly relate to the outcomes and actions of your life in regards to something else. This brings me to my next topic of discussion: loyalty. This isn't a word I hear thrown around very often but when I do it tends to confuse me. I relate loyalty to fidelity and honesty. When you are loyal you are often referred to synonymously as being faithful and trustworthy. With all of these words being thrown around in conversation I can't help but think while they are correlated there is a difference amongst them.

Coming from a Catholic upbringing the word fidelity and faith have been apart of my vocabulary for as long as I can remember. Two statements however have stuck with me during my toughest trials and tribulations. The first being: "Fidem Servavi" the latin motto of my high school translates directly into "I have kept the faith". The second being: "Semper Fidelis" the latin motto of the Marines which directly translates into "Always Faithful". These two phrases transcend their simple translations and have transformed my views on fidelity and faith. While I can be described as a religious person oddly enough I do not use faith or fidelity to describe my connection with religion. Faith and fidelity have taken on a personal meaning for myself rather than in regards to a relationship. As always my views on being a partner always incorporate being yourself primarily. When I reveal my body art to others the initial question is always "What are you always faithful to?" Unfortunately for most of the one tracked minds I did not place a disclaimer on my body to reveal to the opposite sex that I am always faithful in a relationship. Broadcasting or using my body as a form of advertisement are two trends I promise I will never follow. My answer to the subpar intelligence and anticipation always has and always will be that, "I am Always Faithful… to myself". In being faithful to myself I find no difficulties in being faithful to others whether it be in a relationship or not.

This leads me to my next misused and poorly defined word: honesty. I've tackled the issues of honesty in previous rants and not much has changed on my beliefs in regards to honesty. A lie is a lie whether it is black or white or a lie told through omission. I have however broadened my horizons to the followup. Honesty… though always broken, can be fixed through communication. Silence is what truly destroys honesty completely. I myself have been guilty of this destruction as well as those closest to me. The most frustrating factor within silence is pride. Pride clouds the judgement creating a greater silence perpetuating the downfall of saveable sin. Most of the time the anger, the pain, and the embarrassment subsides but the pride will linger. While I continuously feel that honesty is one of the most misused ideals in life especially in relationships I do see a silver lining as it is the simplest to fix. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and be honest with yourself realizing that no amount of pride is worth losing.

I conclude with my own misconceptions and misconstrued ideals in regards to loyalty. The concept of loyalty is the most humorous and underdeveloped. I say humorous because of the past brief descriptions I've heard. With loyalty comes mob movies, hip hop, the street… etc but that is not what loyalty is all about. Being able to run with a crew for a few months and keep your mouth shut doesn't automatically make you a loyal person. Those situations are mostly fear of the unknown outcome but true loyalty can even be difficult to pursue for yourself let alone others. There are not many people that I would consider I am loyal to or that they are loyal to me. I don't relate loyalty to having a "team that will hold me down" it's so much more than that. Loyalty my dear readers once broken is unfixable. Loyalty is offered to few because it is so fragile. And loyalty can with stand the test of time and a changing environment. So remember to always be faithful to yourself, be honest with everyone, and be loyal to very few.

MJB