Loyalty

"What you say to me is what you say about me." – A friend's definition of loyalty.

Loyalty. Some folks have it and some folks don't.

Not much you can do about that.

Some folks are rock-solid, trueblue motherf***ers who will see you through thick and thin.

The kind of people who show up on two hours sleep to ride shotgun when you're going to someplace kind of dark, literally or mentally. You can't buy that kind of folks. They were made from steel somehow. All you can do is thank God that they're in your life.

And those other folks?

The users, the losers, the pretenders, and the cheaters? They live in your world too. Wish you could ship them off to some deserted island, but you can't. And the real trouble is that you're going to learn the most from them: You're going to learn what ugly really looks like.

Because ugly isn't in the face, or in the scars. Ugly lives in the heart. 

And it can't ever hide for long.

But the good news?

Users and losers aren't loyal. Once you cut off the drug, they're gone. Onto the next folks who will give them a hit.

See, the fella loading up his barbell next to you might be a fantastic human being or lowlife cheating scum. Your coach might be the finest person in town or the biggest jerk you ever met.

It's up to you to be the filter, to figure out what is real and what is illusion.

You have to figure out who is worth keeping and who you should leave behind.

Because things are never as simple as they appear, kind of like the workout. 21-15-9 is only 45 reps after all, right? But it's a world of pain once you turn the clock on.

Learn and discern.

And keep the loyal folks close.