Loyalty

"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses." -Ann Landers

There is a reason that wedding vows include "in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health." It speaks to the human condition. We are naturally selfish. We don't tend to put someone else's needs, wants, and desires before our own.  When things get rough, we innately want to leave. Loyalty is about ignoring our instincts. It is about being selfless. Loyalty is about enduring the vicissitudes of life. It's about mutual respect and love.   

Mutual

My mother always told me, "start something the way you want to finish it." I have applied that bit of wisdom to most of my relationships. I am aware that sometimes circumstances spiral out of control. Things happen. Life happens. People grow apart. Intentions are misunderstood. Emotions are miscommunicated. Sometimes, an apology is not enough. The damage is done. However, there are occasions when your affinity towards someone is mutual. You are equally vested in making the relationship work. You are both willing to take the risk and be emotionally vulnerable. Love is not just about being mutually exclusive. "Love is an attempt at penetrating another being, but it can only succeed if the surrender is mutual."- Octavio Paz