Been an interesting week.  Highs and lows, ups and downs.  Got invited to a munch, but I'll be out of town that week.  C'est la vie.  I'm hoping to go to their monthly event in August.  But excited to finally get involved in the Colorado scene in person.

Life is a tapestry.  Many threads, combining to make one cloth.  One image of time and people and places.  We do not always see the threads as they are woven, and rarely do we realize when the important pictures of our tapestry are being formed.  Every soul we touch, every experience we have, is a part of our personal tapestry and makes us who we are.

Just as it is in our own lives, it is for the world.  Every life is a thread in the greater tapestry of our race and our planet and our universe.  Some threads are bright and shining, and all who see them stand in awe.  Many others are plain and simple, and the gaze of the masses pass over them without stopping.  Too often we see the bright and shining threads and forget that they could not shine so bright, could not form such pictures, if not for the support of the thousands of threads around them.  Those lives, the ones so often overlooked, are a vital part of our world, our lives, and our history.

If you feel like one of these threads, overlooked and plain, do not lose hope.  You do not know the people you have touched, the lives you have made better.  You will not see them, but they exist.  You have a place, and you are more important than you believe.

Collars.  They're a big thing, an important thing.  They're a symbol of a relationship and a commitment.  I know that not everyone has the same regard for them as I do.  For me, collars are a sign of a commitment as strong and as deep as a marriage.  When you collar someone, you promise to love and protect them with all of who you are for as long as they wear the collar.  When you accept a collar from someone, you're agreeing to serve and obey them within the limits you've established, and to be faithful to that agreement for as long as you wear the collar.

I know that not everyone shares my views, and I don't expect them to.  Hell, I haven't even shared these views the whole time I've been involved in BDSM, much less my whole life.  I accept that others don't view collars the same way I do, and I do my best not to judge.  It still bothers me to see people treating the collar, either online or in person, like it's a toy, or a high-school promise ring.  Symbols have power, and misusing them or treating the lightly can have consequences.  People can get hurt.  Just...be careful, y'all.  This stuff is real, and you can hurt without meaning to, or be hurt without knowing how to prepare.

Hey look, a Journal.  *pokes it*  Maybe I should use this occasionally.