What does loyalty mean to you? Is it an affirming feeling of confidence in the presence and unconditional support of a loved one, a fellowship, a career, a dog?
Recently, for me, the topic of loyalty has been coming up quite frequently. Perhaps it's because my family has just adopted a dog from the Weyburn Humane Society. Loyalty is a key attribute in 'dog energy', the spiritual wisdom we can learn from our canine counterparts. We can gain perspective from the steadfast loyalty of dogs as much as we can be inspired by the independence of cats. Speaking of cats, all four of ours have had minor hissy fits at the dog, but for the most part, they've also remained loyal to our home. The way I see it, if they were going to run away, they'd have done it by now. But animals know when they have it good!
Princess Goji Berry McManus has become our new baby, so to speak. She's not a puppy, though the shelter staff said she was about two years old. Berry, as we call her, is a very affectionate lady and she's also a great jogging partner. Not many of us can boast about being a reliable jogging partner. But the loyalty of a friend, who can be counted on, is absolutely irreplaceable.
In my younger adult years, I did my fair share of dog-sitting and nannying for families who had dogs, though I never had one when I was growing up. My uncles had dogs, though. Finney dogs were always very well-disciplined and I always appreciated that. In fact, my Uncle Greg's pit bull saved my life and my dad's when I was a child. Critter saved her bark for emergencies and that's the only reason we avoided inevitable carbon monoxide suffocation.
I know many people who've spent far too much time trying to stay loyal to that which is unfulfilling, emotionally draining or ultimately futile. I have been there myself. But what saved me from the dogmatic (pun intended) persistence was my deeper loyalty to my own happiness. I remembered that a wise bard named Billy once said something like, 'to your own self be true.'
Without love, I don't think we can be true to ourselves or to anyone else. Without love, we sell out. Love sets our priorities straight. Whether we practice humble self-love, romantic love, brotherly love, or divine love, we each have a reason to be true. We all have reasons to be accountable.
In a highly functioning society, where most people are living in integrity and have their priorities straight, we have also got the privilege of getting to choose our brand loyalties based on our personal preferences. A hundred years ago this wasn't common among regular people, but we have a pretty fascinating set of behaviors relating to loyalty that is indeed based purely on privilege.
I honestly hope that a hundred years from now, most people will have gone back to making their own products. This seems funny to the privileged, doesn't it? We are, as humans, extremely wasteful and we must reduce our consumption before we are forced to. Isn't it better to change our ways out of a desire to simplify, than to be forced to simplify because of environmental imbalance?
As you could guess, I'm extremely loyal to my natural ways of doing things. I have the courage of my convictions and the confidence of my discipline, resources and intuition. I'm always learning new 'old' ways of doing things that are far better for my personal experience as well as for the planet. Saving on packaging alone, for me, is worth making things from scratch. I guess that's why I perceive brand loyalty as more of a study in human behavior than a practical, individual sensory decision. I do love my fair trade coffee, but if I could grow coffee berries in my yard, I would.
For now, I'm staying loyal to my jogging partner, Berry, who is part hound, so I'm teaching her how to yowl, 'I ruh rooh!' ... will keep you posted on my progress!
