This story is for all of you who follow my blogs and my posts, who comment on my writing and have supported me throughout my journey. Your words mean more to me than I can say but the one word to describe my feelings for all of you is this: “grateful.”
I’m grateful to have people I know and people I don’t know engage in my posts, leave comments of encouragement and support and who are willing to share their own life experiences and feelings with the world.
I’m grateful that you have given me the platform to try and change the world, try and make a difference in it, and to try to make another human being feel better.
I’m grateful that you take the time to read what I write. I’m grateful that you share your opinions of a particular story that meant something to you. I’m grateful that you’re part of my life journey…if only through my writing.
I’m grateful for all of you. It’s amazing to me that some of your comments come from those of you right in my own backyard and others that come to me from other countries.
I’m grateful for all of you, especially in the last few weeks. You’ve allowed me to truly see and believe more than ever that “it’s time to make a difference and we can make that difference together.”
And you’ve all made a difference in my life.
And sometimes it’s “the smallest of things that makes the biggest impact” on our life.
My heart is filled with gratitude for all of you…
Wishing you love and light,
~Anne Dennish~
While I was in Malibu last October finishing up my book, “Waking Up,” I was working on a short story about “loyalty.” I asked many people what it meant to them, and it soon became a topic that no one had a definitive answer for. In fact, a few people were annoyed when I asked their opinion; seemed it stuck in their mind and made them search for an answer; an answer that they could never find.
It also made them question the people in their life…and it made me question those in mine as well.
So what is loyalty? Does it have a different meaning for everyone? Do we make our own rules as to what loyalty is or is there a universal rule?
I start with my own loyalty. If you’re in my life and I love and care for you, I’ll always be loyal, unless you cross a boundary, in which case, I won’t strike back and become disloyal to you, I’ll simply walk away.
Next is the loyalty of those in my life. In healthy relationships of any kind, boundaries must be set for respect between each person. What bothers one person in the relationship may not bother another, yet communicating that to each other is key in the loyalty department. If you cross a boundary with someone in your life, you’ve just proved that you’re not loyal.
You see, “loyalty” is a tough one. The only answer I could get out of most people I spoke to about it was when they referenced the loyalty of a dog. A dog will always be loyal, yet my question made many wonder why humans can’t be the same.
We can, that is, if we choose to.
My loyalty lies with my love, my children, my family and my closest of friends. And that loyalty goes
beyond me; if you hurt those I love, my loyalty will have me walk out of your life as well. It doesn’t matter who you are.
Not many people are willing to do that. Many feel that it’s not their problem when someone hurts the ones’ you love; as long as they weren’t disloyal it’s okay. But is it? If someone intentionally hurts your child, or your spouse or significant other, why would you want to be a part of their life?
I think that’s where the confusion lies. I’ve been in that position before, where my loyalty was tested. It was a rough road between two people I care about, yet when push came to shove, my loyalty was with my love, not with the person who was hurting him. And I had to step out of that world with that other person, because my loyalty and my life is with him. Yes, feelings are hurt when you have to walk away from someone, yet in the end, it’s the right thing to do.
At least for me it was.
I know how important it is for me to be loyal to someone, and I believe I surround myself with those who feel the same about me. We attract what we put out there, and for anyone that knows me, they know I have their back. They know I’ll walk through fire for them, defend them, honor them, love them, protect them, and more importantly, I will walk away from anyone who hurts them. End of story.
“Loyalty” is much more than how you treat someone; it’s also about how other’s treat the people in your life and whether or not you accept that behavior. The choice is yours.
Is “loyalty” a lost art or have we forgotten the importance of it?
“Loyalty” is one of the strongest qualities in any relationship because it breeds trust and respect, and isn’t that what every good relationship should be built on?
Think about it.
Wishing you love and light,
~Anne Dennish~
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 