Loyalty

Loyalty is a fickle character trait that is coveted and prized in our friends and colleagues.  If you wish to see loyalty in its purest form, look no further than a child or a dog.  There is no more of a loyal companion than dog.   Young children’s loyalty to their parents is fierce.  Of course by the time they’ve reached middle school their more loyal to Snap Chat than their parents.  I loved the quote above from Claude McKay because it is totally on point.  How can you be loyal to someone else if you aren’t loyal to who you truly are?  #mindblown

Why is it at we get older it seems loyalty becomes a rare commodity?  Why is that for many adults their loyalty is based on expediency?  This is especially true in the workplace, but also exists within many of our social circles.   As a kid, I thought of loyalty in terms of my loyalty to people.  While this concept is still very much alive in my life, now I think of loyalty differently.  Rather than emphasizing a person, I am loyal to my ideals and my ethics.  I don’t believe in loyalty by expediency.  When I think about what winning means to me, it means winning without cheating.  Winning without cutting corners or bending the rules.

I love my family and friends that have become family.   These brilliant people, some of who at present are blowing up my phone with phenomenal memes, are loyal people. They’re loyal to their ideals, their friends and especially their family.  Perhaps that’s why I so dearly love my hockey family and my friends that became family.  A special shout out to my non-hockey friends, who tolerate the insanity of our schedule and our limited ability.  We truly appreciate your understanding of our craziness.