Loyalty

There’s a certain aspect of our character that I believe reigns high above in regards to not only personal relationships but to business dealings as well. One thing we all look for in a relationship of any kind is support. Support stems from the trait of firm and solid loyalty. An unwavering loyalty is one thing I’ve always admired as something that is not only difficult to find in others, but may be equally as challenging to discover within ourselves.

As a Boy Scout, by reading the Scout Law, I learned that loyalty was second only to trustworthiness. Each week at scout meetings we would say the Pledge of Allegiance, recite the Boy Scout Oath and say the Scout Law. It wasn’t just something we did; it was something we wanted to do. As boys, we wanted to become men. As Scouts, we strived to be more than just grown-ups, but men who knew the difference between knowledge and wisdom. At the time I may have thought we could manage to do so before we became adults, however in being truly loyal to ourselves, we learned that life is more about seeking and less about finding.

There seems to be somewhat of a disconnect recently within our communities and confusion about where, we as individuals, stand within the complexity of today’s society. Personally, my feeling is that we should look more inwardly as to where our loyalties actually reside. We know what is right. We know what is wrong. It is time we align our actions with our thoughts, creating parallels between what we think we should do and what we actually act on and do. As leaders within our households, community, church, organization or what have you, it is time we lead by example and become more loyal to ourselves providing a path for others to do the same.