By kaylee{G}

The Comparison Game

There’s a trend which kaylee finds in discussions between slaves, for some reason much more frequently than her conversations with just regular friends: the comparison of one’s self to another, or how another is treated compared to yourself. There is a quote she has always loved by Max Ehrmann: ‘If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.’

If two people do not have the exact same genetics, or environment or experiences... how can two journeys be expected to be the same? Even two girls owned by the same man may be treated differently. If a girl is more interested in seeing how she is treated compared to everyone else, or in comparing her flaws and merits against another, her focus is not on her service.

kaylee fell into this trap in the beginning... not in the sense of comparing herself to others to find herself superior or inferior, but simply unable to understand why some would claim a status similar to hers and yet expect to keep rights and privileges that went against what she was taught was slavery. It was extremely frustrating, distracting and made her very cynical. She found it much simpler just to focus on the free person she was serving and on her own journey.

Value is not determined by slaves, rather, it is the free who determine how valuable we are to them at that moment. One man may have no use for a slave, another might find qualities in that same female which he finds of interest. The same would be true for any possession or livestock: someone who relies on a pickup truck’s hauling capacity would not find the same value in a Ferrari. So for slaves to attempt to rank each other’s worth is wasting time and energy... for it is never by a slave’s measuring stick that she is valued, but by a free person’s.

Often, kaylee sees girls rely heavily on the “slave is a slave is a slave” mantra to give a sense that all slaves share mass equality. Slaves are not “one size fits all.” In fact, auctions emphasized the variances in values for collarmeat. The position a girl held on a coffle was a ranking of sort for slaves, always subject to change but ranked nonetheless, never by the slaves, but by the free.

Some slaves lack abilities or skills which make them of less practical use to one man than the next. Some slaves, like livestock, have certain genetics or intellect which make them better suited for one purpose than another. Some simply have the tenacity and drive that a man demands of slaves to be found pleasing to him.

But no slave is guaranteed to be found valuable to the free, and no slave is immune to being found lacking, no matter how or who she has pleased in the past. Successes only count for the moment here, so a slavegirl who hopes to be found of some worth will find herself always striving to please. After all, a slave is merely a slave, particularly among men who know how to drive home a reminder of her place. But equal in value? No. That varies from moment to moment, girl to girl, depending on the free she is serving.

Perhaps this is more of a problem for those who are in a very social community, where cliques form or everyone knows everyone else. Perhaps it is due to new girls coming in and seeing the high expectations of the free, and wondering if they will ever be able to “make the grade”.

That does not mean girls who have served for years are valued more or that a girl who is a first girl knows all there is to know. It doesn’t mean that a self confident slave would make you feel inferior or of less value. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” and kaylee could not agree more.

What it does mean is this: slaves do not set their own worth, or the worth of other slaves. The free do, and it is a constantly fluctuating state... one poor choice or action can cause a girl’s value to plummet... sometimes to the extent that it is irreparable.

When we turn our eyes forward, keeping focus on the journey ahead, that elusive bar of excellence that the free person has in front of us... we turn our eyes away from the “who is better than who” and comparisons by slaves of their peers. When one is focused to be as pleasing as she can be, to grow and flourish in the ways that the free find of value, to focus merely on striving to please, there simply is no time or energy to worry about how others are treated, who has more value, why some get away with what you are told is not acceptable. It is no longer within our scope of vision, nor our concern.

Until next month, she wishes you well.
-kaylee{G}

kaylee has been the household property of Gabriel for nearly five years, and together they have shared their passion for writing on his website: www.gor-on-earth.com. Future topics, suggestions, feedback, and questions are always welcome. kaylee can be contacted at: kaylee@gor-on-earth.com