Submission

A short comment I left on "The Training blog of Mark", got me thinking about submission a bit more. In it, I was speaking about submission and the different levels of submission that exist, according to me at least. I'm not claiming to have written the book on submission or to have invented the proper definition of it. But roughly speaking I think there exist three levels of submission. I will specify them below.

1. Obedience
   This is the most basic level of submission. A boy is given an order or instruction and carries it out. Very basic, very unchallenging and also uninteresting, in my opinion. However, that doesn't mean that obedience is not required of a boy, no matter of how advanced a submissive he is.
2. Servitude
   I don't know if I am completely happy with the term servitude, but for me it covers something more than mere obedience. Servitude implies a willingness to serve, not merely doing as you're told but also trying to please. Obedience is passive, servitude requires being more active. It also implies a certain level of trying to anticipate the needs and wishes of the Domme. To serve is more than to obey.
3. Humility
   Humility literally means to place yourself lower than someone else, to make yourself more acceptable to another person. It is the highest form of submission that implies valuing other's wishes and demands higher than your own, even if those wishes run counter to your own. It is the most advanced form of submission and the one that runs deepest. It requires much more than obedience or servitude.

 I don't mean to say that a submissive who is "only" obedient is therefore less than a sub who displays servitude. It depends a lot on the type of scene that is being played, the expectations, etc. For instance, if you're playing a teacher/schoolboy scene, servitude is not required, obedience is enough. I am also not saying that every submissive should aspire to advance to level 3. While this is true in video games, it is not so for BDSM play. Furthermore, a boy may display humility in one part of play and obedience in another. You don't get grades for submission.

As on the weblog I mentioned, I'd like to close by saying the following:
Disclaimer: the above babble is just my opinion and no correctness or usefulness is implied.

Okay class, discuss!