Why do you serve?

Drawing by Bordone,
Image courtesy ArtToday.com

Why Do You Serve?

" 'What are the duties of a slave?' I asked.
'They are complex and manifold, Master,' she said.
'Speak generally,' I said.
'We are to be absolutely docile,' she said, 'totally obedient and fully pleasing.' "
John Norman, Savages of Gor, p. 184

"Badness you can get easily, in quantity: the road is smooth, and it lies close by. But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it, and rough at first. But, when you come to the top, then it is easy, even though it is hard."
Hesiod, The Theogony, c. 700 B.C.

The other night, this one went into irc chat and entered a room she had never been to before. As is her custom, she begged entry. When granted, she immediately went to the furs and offered service. The room Owner called her over, and said that she could indeed serve Him. When she asked how, He told her to create a poem--not to repeat a poem she'd previously written, but come up with a new poem on the spot; He gave her five minutes to compose it.

Well, arani was taken for quite a loop. she has written poetry, but usually when inspired by a particular person or event, and then after much thought and consideration. she isn't used to being commanded to compose on the spot. But then she got to thinking--how is composing a poem different from composing a serve? The two things may be very different, but in some ways they are very much the same.

This girl did compose her poem, and the Master told her He was pleased with the effort. Oh, He agreed with her that it was not a great poem. But it was good enough, given the time constraints and that it was done on the spur of the moment. it was the effort that had been pleasing to Him. He then took the time to discuss what had happened with arani and another slave that was in the room.

This Master said that He much preferred having a slave serve Him in this way. He said that if He wanted a half-naked woman to jiggle all over the place while bringing Him a drink, He would go to Hooters. arani told Him what her Master had told her; what a slave is actually serving is not a goblet of ka-la-na or a bowl of paga. Those things don't even exist in the "real" world. What a slave is really doing is serving herself. Now, wait a minute. That doesn't mean she is doing it to please herself. What she is doing is offering herself to the Master--her words, her time, her heart, her mind. She is being what the Master wants her to be, doing her best to be pleasing to Him in whatever way He desires.

arani has said it before, and she'll say it again. she will serve a Master in any way He wishes. If He wants her to bring Him a drink with long flowery posts, she'll do that. If He wants His drink fast and with little fanfare, she'll do that. If He wants her to sit and converse with Him, then she will gladly comply. If He wants her to serve Him carrot juice in a bedpan, with a Mickey Mouse straw, while dancing about the room in a pink tu-tu, then she'll darn well do that too. And the same thing goes for if He wants her to write naughty limericks, or tell Him riddles, or make up a story. The whole point is that it is what the Master wants. she has to be prepared for anything.

The same thing applies to WHO a slave serves. arani has talked to many of her sisters who will not serve a Free Woman, or who openly talk of how much they dislike doing so. As slaves, is it our right to make judgements about whom we serve? No. We are to be pleasing to ALL the Free, not just Masters.

By the same token, we are not to judge who is "Gorean" and who is not. Many has been the time that a tourist has wandered into Gor, not having the slightest understanding what is going on, and under the impression that this is a place for some easy cyber with a willing slave. Then, after spending time observing what goes on here, talking to the people who spend their lives here, and witnessing the willing service of slaves, they decide that they want to be a part of Gor as well. They spend time finding and reading the books, surfing websites, speaking to knowledgeable people. So beware, sister. Today's troller may be tomorrow's strong Gorean Master.

Personally, this one does not mind serving FW. she sees it as a challenge, having to modify her usually sexy serve so as not to offend the sensibilities of another female. she will kneel in tower; when she stands up on her tip-toes to reach a serving vessel she tugs on the hem of her silks so they don't rise up too high. she avoids references to her "heat" and her "pear-shaped orbs." When a FW tells her she has been pleasing, it makes arani happy as she knows that she has honored her collar.

Of course arani would rather be serving a strong and handsome Master. her first choice would be to serve the One who placed His steel about her neck and His brand on her belly. But since He has seen fit not to restrict whom she serves, she has no choice but to willingly serve All. she tries just as hard to be pleasing to Everyone, and her heart soars the same when she is praised for her service.

Now, this girl's Master also expects her to use a little common sense. He expects her to protect His property. she does not give out any personal information, she does not allow a Master to treat her in ways her Owner would not. If she has doubts, her Master has instructed her to leave the situation and ask questions later.

The same thing goes for serving off line. arani has spoken to slaves who feel that unless they are at the feet of a Master on line, they are not serving. Well, what if you could never come on line again? Would you still be a slave, and how would you express your slavery?

arani discovered her slavery on line. There was a time when she felt that she had to be in chat all the time, serving one Master right after another. One of this one's dear friends told her that it used to wear her out to watch this one going from one Master to the next for hours at a time. When she was not on line, she was thinking about how to better her service to her Master. her job suffered, her relationship with her friends and family suffered, she had almost no social life away from her computer.

What this one finally came to realize was that she is as much a slave when the computer is off as when it is on. Every moment of her life is a service to someone. When this fact finally hit home, her life improved immensely. As her satisfaction with her job increased, so did her performance. she found new joy in old friendships, her relationship with her family became better than ever.

In arani's job as a teacher, she sometimes must assume a dominant role. she must at times control the behavior of students ranging in age from 5 to 19. Only a month ago she put the fear of God into a recalcitrant teenage male. These moments used to disturb a girl greatly, and she couldn't wait to rush home and once more "become a slave."

What she didn't realize was that by teaching and inspiring these students, she IS serving. she is serving the administration, the students' parents, the community, and even the students themselves. Instead of resenting the high volume of paperwork that her job entails, she now sees that as meeting the needs of her students and making her school district look good. And in so doing, she is pleasing.

this one serves her Master off line in many ways, even though she does not live with Him. But she also serves others. she serves when she calls to offer condolences to a friend whose father has passed away. she serves when she uses the voice God gave her to sing in church. she serves when she pays her bills on time.

arani begs her sisters and brothers to look around themselves and see how they can serve those around them. Are you using your time spent on line to supplement your life off line, or are you using it to replace it? If your life away from the computer is not happy, what are you doing to try and improve it? Is your time in chat used as an avoidance mechanism?

Now, this one has known people who have such a hard life that they need some time to escape. she certainly does not belittle these people, and only prays for their happiness. We all need a little escapism, from time to time. But this escaping should only be a temporary measure. For, after all, this is not reality, as much as we would like for it to be--this is a computer.

One of the tasks that arani's Master has set her is to search for the source of her slavery. He has told her that this will not be an easy search, or a short one; it may well take her all of her lifetime. All of us embrace slavery for different reasons; arani will not share hers here. What is important is that we know why we are driven to serve, what it is inside of us that makes us a slave?

arani wishes you success in your search, brother and sister. she hopes to continue hers for some time to come.

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