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Submission
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I found this in a blog and love the message .....

It has been said that a submissive have no strength, thus they are easily dominated. I've heard that some women consider themselves too 'strong' to be a submissive, as if being strong somehow excluded them from possibly being submissive. Usually if a woman says she is too 'strong' to be a submissive, she refers to herself as being either too stubborn, or will not let go of her pride, and that might interfere with her submission to another. I don't consider stubbornness or pride as necessarily synonymous of strength, although as I have matured I have redefined what strength is to me.

As a teen and young adult, the idea of strength (or appearing strong to others) was something I used to pride myself. By my thinking, I would never let anyone see my tears, for they hinted at vulnerability. I was strong willed, and would dig in my heels... even when I knew I might be wrong. It was much harder for me to ask for help, or admit I was not right, or to accept correction without growing defensive. All my focus was on external measures of strength... and the idea of surrender seemed to be weak, not strong. I thought it was an action of giving up, of defeat, instead of seeing the strength in acceptance. And yet, I would meet surrendered women who were so strong in ways I never dreamed of…and I wondered how they did it.

I grew to understand that there is a significant difference between external and internal strength. Not everyone is able to overpower those who are stronger physically, or who use tools that render us powerless. Some may find themselves imprisoned, or bound to a force with a stronger physical power. But in my mind, external strength cannot force surrender if the person is strong in spirit, and in a consensual society, external strength should not play a large part (if any) in submission.

Internal strength can be a useful commodity in a submissive. It can be that internal strength that gives a submissive the ability to sacrifice, surrender, to create that drive to be pleasing. It allows a submissive to devote their lives to serving another, and to accept what comes to them even when it's harder than one might think they can bear. The human spirit is stronger than most of us believe, and its strength often emerges during a person's darkest times to lift us up, and carry us through the turmoil.

Strength can show itself in many forms, in so many ways that I never considered before I was faced with them. I never lost my strength of character …I merely focused my determination towards growing into the kind of submissive He wants me to be, instead of resisting him and arguing. I discovered:

· Strength can be biting down on your lip when the time is right, and putting aside your defensiveness or hurt ego to reach a higher goal.

· Strength can be accepting responsibility for the consequences of your actions, even when it's easier just to lay low and wait for the consequences to pass.

· Strength can be loving unconditionally - just to be allowed to express that emotion - without holding back to see if the person returns it.

· Strength can be when you know yourself to be lost and admitting it, and begging for guidance instead of trying to wing it.

· Strength can be being absolutely honest with yourself, even when the answers are the ones you cannot bear to hear.

Submission can be challenging. No matter how natural and fulfilling it is to a person, it also takes tenacity, dedication, drive, humility, flexibility and the ability to learn from mistakes.

If I were weak, I would deny the person I am in order to live a life that is simpler and provides more comforts and rights than submission does. I'd succumb to society's pressures to be an independent entity, to strive for the attributes that society rewards. I would not find the internal strength to bare myself, vulnerable and exposed, to others. I would deny my personal accountability. I would hide behind an external shield of false bravado. I would be ashamed of my tears.

Discovering who I truly am has given me strength. Truth gives those who recognize and embrace it an inner strength, enabling them to go places where fears normally inhibit them. Inner strength cannot be stolen, or taken, or traded. It is constant; present with every breath, as much a part of self-expression as one's own submission is. It gives me the ability to strive to please when I am frightened, to know when pride is interfering with my service, to know and embrace myself. The men I am drawn to serving are the kind of men who do not need to push me down or weaken me in order to make them feel powerful. They are strong because that is the kind of men they already were, before I ever entered the picture. Even as a strong woman, they inspire me to kneel before them.

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