Loyalty

The word won't leave my head the last few days. Of the 12 points of the Scout Law, it is the second and the one that most truly stirs my heart and my mind. Everything we do in relation to others requires a greater or smaller dose of it. Those with whom the interaction is simply random it can simply be respecting their space. On the gripping hand, though, with those we love, it is that self-sacrificing devotion to be there for the other's well being.

As a family, I feel blessed with how loyal we are to each other. Despite living in different states, we talk frequently and each have a demonstrated willingness to drop it all to help when in need. It saddens me to realize that many families don't have that bond. For me, it is one of the deepest and strongest roots that makes me who I am. Once past the wariness of a new relationship with a person or idea or even a place, it is an automatic instinct to build a degree of loyalty. The longer and more beneficial I find that relationship, the deeper the depth of the loyalty goes and the stronger the resolve to keep that faith.

For all its strength, it also is an Achilles heel, easily struck by the right blow with unexpected consequences. The knot it ties me with at times seems Gordian in its complexity when the knowledge that what needs to be done has potential to cause harm to the other party in the interest of helping.

A lack of loyalty to anyone or anything is a lack of center. If you cannot define to what you are loyal how can you stand for anything? Is there anything that such a man believes in? Can that man have hope? Loyalty implies hope for the future and faith in the present.

When I stand next to repeat the Scout Law, listen to the second point, echoed loudest.