Loyalty

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.".... Elbert Hubbard

An ounce of loyalty is priceless. It cannot be bought, except in kind. Once earned it should be steadfast in its intensity, but since it is so valuable it should never be tossed about carelessly. I treat it with much more honor now than I once did. Live and learn is a brutal thing sometimes. But knowing better now is worth the pain... some people never learn at all, so I count myself lucky in that regard.

Loyalty is akin to trust, some deserve it and some only get it by default. Love can be the great deceiver. We sometimes place priceless gifts before ones who pretend to be what we hope they are, and we are too far gone before the mask slips. Getting burned that way is a common risk, yet it is not reason enough to give up all hope.

My husband was an abuser, yet I loved him. My last boyfriend was a con-man, I loved him too. I gave all and came up mostly empty-handed. But I never lost hope. And finally that hope was highly rewarded. My life is peppered with times I remained loyal to people who were less than loyal to me. But... and hear this soul-deep... it was their loss... their issues... their damage... and ultimately their burden to carry.

Just because you are not loved in the way that is healthy and strong it does not mean that you are unlovable. Most times it means you put your faith in a leaky vessel. Most times the damage that caused the hole in their soul happened long before you ever appeared. Losing faith in yourself is what they want, feeling better when someone else is miserable is a common thing with such people.

Unconditional love should begin with yourself, until you can love yourself with all your many flaws it is too easy to place all your faith in someone unworthy of that gift. I learned well, now I am well-loved. The joy of it is magnified to staggering limits, because of all the years when all I knew was a heavy hand. It was worth the pain... and the wait... a just reward indeed.

I got the following in an email and saved it for placing here... now seems the right time.
Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead,
who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends.
Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you.
Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says, "...that's her."

I wrote the following poem when I simply hoped in fairytales being possible. Now that I know they are, I place it here in honor of DREAMS THAT DO COME TRUE. Never sell yourself short, as I once did. Never give up hope of a better tomorrow. And as always.... think about it.... let it ride.... then decide!!!!

The Tower Princess

She sat upon her tower throne, a forgotten princess all alone,
Deep in thought, gazing at passing clouds of pastel foam.
Inside her surreal kingdom, the lonely sovereign heaved a heavy sigh,
All she ruled was centered inside herself, only God could master earth and sky.

Daydreaming of keys, and ladders, and every other means of escape,
Made the days of confinement much easier for her to take.
A twist of fate had landed her firmly upon this barren throne,
And try as she might it never could be her rightful home.

Just when hope was fully dressed and dying to leave, a voice echoed from far below,

She rose slowly and leaned her head out of the tower window.
Lancelot stood tall in armor brightly polished and lifted brown eyes to blue,
He bowed then simply said, "Princess, I wish I could rescue you."

She smiled gently, regal from head to toe, even in her tattered gown,
"Sir Lancelot, I know it is not in your power to get this princess down.
But now someone knows, I am trapped here so now I'm not alone."
And at that moment her heart began to thaw, and the tower descended some.

The weary princess without serf's to order, or servants to boss about,
Struggled her throne window-side, and gave a triumphant shout.
She sat where he was visible, camped so far below, waiting for a clear sign,
That he was destined, and gifted by God's unfathomable, yet perfect design.

Her brow creased with sudden worry that he might simply turn out to be,
Just another brick in this mighty tower, not the keeper of the key.
It would take a brave knight, indeed, to aide her in this difficult escape,
To melt solid ice around her heart that made isolation her emotional fate.

The key to her decent was buried deep inside a lonely heart, terrified of breaking apart,
She needed to be sure that he possessed a true knight's heart.
Could she trust him to unbolt the padlock that she could not reach alone,
And wait for her at the base of the winding stairway, fashioned of cold grey stone.

Gentle words reached her as she sat trembling, trying to decide,
And without permission, as if fated the ice began to slide.
Beads cascaded down the iceberg, like tears of blessed relief,
And her tower prison shuddered from draw bridge to towering keep.

A smile graced her face as she drank in words of such intensity, like none she had heard before,
And the princess ached to answer the gentle knocking upon her hearts locked door.
As she sat frozen the key dropped into her trembling hand, and without a pause she tossed it upon the ground,
She leaned out the window and said to the knight below, "Lancelot, unlock the door, please, this princess is coming down." 
GLENDA ALEXANDER