Diamonds in the Rough

“Don’t think of them as battle scars. Think of them as facets on a very beautiful, unique diamond.”

I posted that as a Facebook status a while back. At the time, it was more of a random thought, but it’s one that has stayed with me through the following months. A couple of inter-related discussions yesterday on Puppy 101 and Sirs & boys, as well as a personal post by a brother pup out there brought it back to mind.

I can’t help but think how hard it can be to see the diamond. It shouldn’t HAVE to be difficult at all, but we continuously find ourselves in situations that make it difficult to see. We live in a world that puts more value on uniformity and conformity that it does on individuality. And no matter how many times others may tell us how valuable and wonderful we can be as individuals, it’s something we each have to find in ourselves. Only then can we see the diamond that is our true inner selves and have faith that it is always there, even during the stormy times.

For those of us in the leather/kink/fetish community, the struggle to find that diamond doesn’t have to be made more difficult than the rest of the society is already making it. There isn’t a person in this community who hasn’t weathered the storms of criticism and judgment, the recriminations and rejections from those on the outside – and, unfortunately, some on the inside as well.  We’ve seen how damaging just one word of derision can be.  We’ve seen potential lost to us when narrow-mindedness trumped acceptance. And we’ve seen our collective future brightened simply because one person was given the chance that made all the difference.

I can’t make anyone look within that isn’t ready. But I CAN reassure them that they aren’t alone and that the journey to find their true inner selves is the best one they can ever take. It’s something we can all do.  There are enough people on the outside telling us we’re wrong. Let’s be the collective voice telling each other we’re all on the right path.