Are the dynamics between dominant and submissive a paradox?

Thanks to a trashy novel and equally horrendous film adaptation, dominant and submissive traits are being discussed. These words that bring many things to mind. Some may think of gender roles and responsibilities within society when thinking about them. One person works while the other stays home raising children. Others may look at the power dynamics in a relationship between two people, with one exerting psychological and/or physical control over someone who has consented to it.  The aspect I was interested in exploring in my art had to do with dominating our egos and submitting to something greater than ourselves.

Dominate yourself and submit to the universe

The internal relationships of being dominant and submissive greatly intrigue me. We all have things we need to dominate within ourselves: We need self control over things like our passions, what we eat and our thoughts.  We need to be able to reign in our fears that cripple us from taking needed action. We need to produce instead of always consume. Without this self control, things can quickly take over our lives in a negative way.  On the other hand, there are things in life that we submit to and yield control. We must submit to our own mortality. We submit to our employer and the law (if we want to keep our job and stay out of jail).  We submit to something larger than ourselves to affect positive change.  We find our calling that the universe has put before us and hopefully accept it.

Given these realities, are the dynamics between dominant and submissive a paradox?  Is every dominant also a submissive; every submissive, a dominant? While these labels are useful to define current relationships, actions or states of mind, no person can ever truly encompass just one of these aspects. This presents an even bigger question: what areas of our life do we need to dominate and which ones do we need to submit to? The answers to these questions blaze the trails of our individual journeys.  May we experience many blessings with them.

Dominance and submission are explored poetically within the story arc of the ebook, Male Nude: Hero Myth of the Masculine Journey. You can visit www.figurativearc.com for more information.  Thanks for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.