Fine Lines

I am committed. Not loyal. I make a conscious choice about it. Even if it’s not placed directly in front of me, I know where my line is. It took me a lifetime of learning to figure it out. And stand firm. The definitions of commitment and loyalty seem to blur a bit, so I will have to explain it to you in my own words.

Commitment- Being bound emotionally/intellectually to a course of action or to another person/other persons. State of being pledged or engaged. The trait of sincerity and focused purpose.

LOYALTY. That which adheres to the law, that which sustains an existing government. The state or quality of being loyal; fidelity to a superior, or to duty, love, etc. devotion to a cause, country, group, or person.

I used to be loyal. To the bone. To the death. It’s innate. I was born that way. It’s part of my very unique and intrinsic makeup. God made me the way I am, so I stopped questioning a lot of things a long time ago. Having an innate sense of loyalty is actually a good thing. Especially for the ones at the receiving end of anyone’s loyalty. Over the course of my life, I had to come to terms with the fact that loyalty has a righteous place in one’s life, just like anything else. Personal and business experiences have shown me in no uncertain terms that wasting my loyalty on something that is not in line with who I am, has no place taking up my energy and time. There are currently a select few individuals who are still on the receiving end of my loyalty. I definitely do not have any loyalty for any company, group or country.

On the other hand, I have managed to become much more committed. To myself first and foremost. I stay engaged with my own development. Intellectually and physically, but mainly spiritually. I can’t take this body with me wherever I go, so my focus will always be spiritual. And this is where I have learned to define that fine line between commitment and loyalty. I can no longer remain loyal to anything or anyone who is not in alignment with who I am committed to be. Trust me, I have had my moments of being corrupted in my life plenty of times before. Because I allowed my loyalty to outweigh my commitment to myself. It hasn’t happened in a long while and I have no plans to falter from my personal commitment.

So I do things that others label as different and weird, when all it is, is me being committed to who I am. It may not be what the expected behavior is, but no matter what I choose to do, my choices should always be something that I am willing to die with.