Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )

Chapter 14: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
I am utterly convinced that there are just three kinds of people in the world:
optimists, pessimists, and realists. The optimist sees the glass as half full. The
pessimist sees the glass as half empty. A realist sees the glass as twice as large
as it needs to be. Which are you?
If you’re seriously considering entering into a D/s relationship or adopting a
BDSM lifestyle, it would be wise to realistically contemplate all of the potential
issues, and not just consider the rainbows and unicorns perspective. It can be
incredibly easy to leap headlong into a new relationship or scenario without
having a full appreciation of the potential pitfalls which might lie ahead. I know.
I’ve done it. I’ve done it more times than I care to admit. In those instances,
would I have been receptive to an offer of some friendly advice on the potential
for problems ahead? Probably not. So then, what makes me think you’ll take
anything I say in this chapter any more seriously than I would have, when I was
in your shoes?
Only this: I’m hoping that you’re a lot smarter than I was.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong in any relationship. You don’t need
me to tell you that. You most likely have a collection of relationship horror
stories of your own that would curl my toes, and most of them probably have
nothing to do with D/s-related issues. Relationships, in general, can be
complicated, messy things. Adding any new variable to the mix tends to make it
even more so. When those variables just happen to exist on the fringes of
acceptable societal norms, as do D/s, BDSM and polyamory, it gets infinitely
more complicated.
Honestly, not everyone wants to ponder all the things that could possibly go
wrong in a complex relationship. Humorist Dave Barry noted that one of the
major differences between men and women is their affinity for understanding
complicated relationships, saying, “Your basic guy is into a straight-ahead,
bottom-line kind of thought process that does not work nearly as well with the
infinitely subtle complexities of human relationships as it does with calculating
how much gravel is needed to cover a given driveway.” Even so, neither sex