For centuries, humans have been domesticating dogs. They are by far our most loyal companions. Through the mountains of research conducted, it can be concluded that dogs seldom bite the hand that feeds them. Humans on the other hand, are a whole different story. The entire premises of this saying are ungratefulness and disloyalty, and we as humans can give master classes, through our daily dealings. Ungratefulness is a characteristic we slip into once we get what we so desire. The use and throw, disposable era has taken the world by storm. Loyalty is the cornerstone to every grate relationship and when we break that trust we destroy the ship.
I remember ages ago, my grandmother would sit and tell me stories of the years she grew up. Her brothers and sisters would play around and have loads of fun with their cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and so many other people. What surprised me was that she wasn’t talking about a yearly holiday. She was talking about the life she lived every day. The interdependence and thus mutual respect and gratefulness for the presence of all around them. In those golden years gone by, looking after the elders in the family was habitual. It was not only the norm but it was looked at as the privilege given to the younger lot. Today, even in some text books, old age has been portrayed as a burden to the young. It is looked on as a curse to be endured till someone is no more.
Our parents are the ones who are wholly and solely responsible for who we are today. No matter how hard we worked to get here, no matter who else helped, the first to place their trust and love in us were our parents. As we grow older we fail to be grateful for all they have done for us. Instead we pride ourselves on our own effort, the support we received from our colleagues and the new entrants into our lives and sheer luck sometimes but our first pillar of support is allowed to fade into the background. Sometimes looked at as the only aspect of our lives that needs to be fixed.
Besides our parents, we also tend to overlook the importance of the others we are close to especially our spouses. Before we hook them in with the bonds of matrimony, we go all out of our way to show them how special they are. The moment we sink our teeth in however, we allow ourselves to fall back into bad habits. Expecting them to know how we feel, expecting them to take on our lifestyles with ease, expecting everything they do as a part of our birth right, is where we fail as caring, attentive human beings. A thank you, an appreciation and warm hug is probably all it would take to make each other happy. Our spouses weren’t made to fulfill our every whim. For all they do, we need to be more grateful and loyal beyond the norm.
Another very important area where we see these two characteristics come to the fore often, is at work. As an employee, yes. But as an employer too. When someone gives us an opportunity to explore our potential in their company, and when we have accepted their terms and conditions by signing on that dotted line, we have taken a promise to serve to the best of our ability. We have agreed to follow their policies and to ensure that we hold our place of work in high esteem. But as our humanness kicks in slowly, we allow ourselves to find reasons to be unhappy.
Suddenly, one day we wake up and are hit with the realisation that we aren’t really happy with the cards we have been dealt. What do we do? Common sense would be, we go speak to the management and see if we can change a few things. What do we actually do? Tell everyone who will listen how horrible our jobs are, complain till we are blue in the face and plot to bring down all those who are actually going about doing what they agreed to do for the same company. But loyalty and gratefulness are also endeavours for the employers. If you have good people working for you, let them know you appreciate them and stop trying to replace them or make them feel unwanted.
It is very easy to find relationships. It is extremely difficult to maintain them. You may luck out with those you have around you, be grateful and show it. Be loyal and be happy about it. There is a lot we can learn from nature. From a dog, you could take away ‘Never bite the hand that feeds you.’
