Blind loyalty

I’ve been thinking about this with blind faith, blind loyalty, love is blind. I don’t believe in doing things blindly; I think there’s a danger to that. Of course, sometimes we have to trust faith, and step into the unknown just hoping that it will work. But honestly, I never do so lightly, never without hesitation, never trusting fortune completely. I doubt, I resist, but I surrender. I do it without knowing what will come – blindly, in that sense – but hoping that I can deal with what comes. Because I’ve  prepare as best I can, before; I’ve considered scenarios and done what I can to give fortune a chance. Sometimes I even enjoy not knowing, and having to surrender control, but I’ve always given it some consideration and decided that it’s worth it. Blindly? Not really. Trusting, more like it. Trusting in spite of not knowing, trusting something higher to help, and trusting myself to handle what may come.

My faith in Goddess is deep, but is it blind? No. And it’s not unwavering. I doubt, I question, I rebel, but I surrender, and I trust Her to be there, as I know She is. And as I know, I don’t have to believe it. I know. 

And my faith is not in some perfect deity, not in trusting that all will always be well. I walk Her path knowing that it’s not perfect, as I’m not perfect, as nothing in Nature is perfect. We don’t know what may come. But it is what it is. Maybe that’s perfection. And it’s how my faith is; I may resist, question, and go into things kicking and screaming, but  I surrender. I do it. I take Her hand.  

Blind loyalty, now there’s something I don’t trust at all. I think it’s dangerous when people obey and are loyal without questioning, without thinking and reflecting upon who they are loyal to. People who are blindly loyal are easily manipulated, and we see it all the time. It’s fundamental to any sect culture, whether it is religious, political, success/self-development… It’s how atrocities are commited in the name of a God or a leader or an ideology. It’s not sane.

In faith and religious contexts, as well as in politics and activism, I have witnessed blind loyalty, and how it can destroy something that was once good. We all know how power can corrupt, and that people who follow without questioning build leaderships who will not be questioned. That climate will cause fraction and discord, and will break apart communities. The blindly loyal won’t accept voices of dissent. They will regard that as disloyalty, when in fact it may be the deepest loyalty to the cause and the people behind it. And leaders raised by blindly loyal may even become blinded by them. A good leader doesn’t need blindly loyal followers, they need clear-sighted equals who dare speak up and question. 

I’m deeply loyal to people I trust and love, but never blindly so. I’m clear-sightedly loyal. I see their flaws, I don’t stand behind things that I don’t agree with, I question when they do harm or demand the unreasonable; I never buy into the whole package. My loyalty is to a person, not all of their actions and opinions. I think for myself. I agree to the reasonable, but I will never give up my free will and free path. I won’t trust you just because you are who you are, I don’t take orders, I have a free mind and free spirit that won’t be controlled. This makes me a poor follower, but a good friend. A good and loyal equal. I may stand behind you, but I will not walk behind you. I will walk next to you, or my own path. And I won’t compromise my own truth.

Love. Love is blind. But is it, really? Does it have to be? Blind love is a lot like blind loyalty; it’s blind, unthinking, unreflecting. It doesn’t see the flaws. I do, even in deepest love. If I love you, I love you in spite of your flaws. And there are things that even love cannot bridge, that even love cannot approve of. Even then, I may love you even though I cannot accept what you do. Acceptance is the key to whether love is enough. “Accept the things I cannot change…”

For me, love isn’t blind, but accepting.