My community

What is community?

This weekend I enjoyed two plus days of non-stop play and comraderie at the Blood, Sweat, and Fear run. An event sponsored by the Dragon Clan, the run was designed to bring together Dragons, whelps, and Queer friends who enjoy heavy play.

The beauty of this run was its open nature. For more than 48 hours, about forty of us played and socialized as a Tribe. From the arrival of guests on Friday to the hour of departure on Sunday, people laughed, played, dined, and played some more. I did not think of the run as a collection of scenes. Rather, the play evolved seamlessly out of social interactions.

No terms exist to describe what we actually did, or to define the bonds that we created. We use words like "Tribe" and "community" to refer this collective. Often these words are co-opted by others, applied in hollow fashion to clubs and money-making endeavors.

To me, the community represents the cooperative that comprised this run. And it is the network of others who come together around the globe for similar runs. These are the people who feed my soul, the Tribe to which I belong together with my boys. This is my community.