:: Edgeliving: Master Jim and slave marsha ::

:: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 ::

To Be or Not To Be, That Is the Question… But What’s the Answer?

I was in the Dallas Eagle one night when I was approached by a man who asked me,

“Sir, I am a boy. How can I find a Sir?”

To be honest, I was not in the mood to engage this man in a long conversation about what I saw as the key characteristics of a boy and how a boy might go about finding a Sir. After all, it was the Eagle, it was Saturday night, and I had one or two other things on my mind. But after asking him a few basic questions about what he hoped to find, I looked him in the eye, reached out and touched his bare chest, and said…

“Be the boy.”

I was not trying to be flip or dismissive in my short statement. But I also did not realize the full import of what I had said until later.

“Be the boy.”
“Be the Master.”
“Be the slave.”

Those few words, I believe, contain a critically important message.

Be who you are, be true to yourself, and eventually, all else will fall into place.

It seems so obvious. In order to be a boy, a Master, or a slave, that indeed must be who you are. Nevertheless, in my opinion, many in the leather community assume a role they think is hot or cool – whether or not that is truly who they are. People play at Mastery or slavery. While this may work in a scene or for a weekend, in the long run, and more likely in the short run, the assumed façade will melt away. Many people who have entered into Master/slave relationships without stopping to discover whether they or their counterpart really are Masters or a slaves have learned the truth of this, to their sorrow.

Being who you are does not presuppose or require experience. Being who you are does not mean that you have been given a magic key to living happily ever after. Being who you are does not mean that you have wisdom known only to a few. Being who you are, however, does mean that you are truthful with yourself and that you are willing to look inside yourself and discover who you are.

When you engage in this self-examination and discover a slave or Master within, then be that person. Embrace Mastery or slavery. Welcome it into your life. Celebrate who you are. Live as a Master or live as a slave to the best of your ability.

In other words, be.

That is the answer.

In leather,
Master Jim

:: 2:52 PM [+] ::
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