Only a Duke Will Do

It's a standing joke between me and my best friend, that mere mortal men should forget courting me because only a duke will do. You see, I have a penchant for Georgette Heyer and lately for another romance writer who writes of Lords and Earls and Dukes. I had to analyze it though. I am not a frivolous person, and if I wasn't reading for frivolty, what was I reading for.

I finally figured it out. All these men (in particular the dukes, of course :-)) have some pretty common characteristics - grace, dignity, honor, duty, courage, and a deep love of truth.

Well, I had a spiritual teacher for many, many years and you know what he taught his students about? Grace, dignity, honor, duty, courage and a deep love of truth. These have become ingratiated in my being - I seek them in my actions, I seek them in my words, I aspire to changing myself to reach higher every time I detect that I am not living up to them - these are the things that are important to me. But how rare in today's world.

Sometimes the dukes in these stories have had to sacrifice something to do their duty, sometimes they have seemed high in the instep because they were acting out of a place of honor and grace. Their courage stands out to me, their love of truth is incredibly appealing.

The thing is - I've missed that in my relationships. I have chosen men who had less than these characteristics. These have been dismal and painful experiences, which have left many scars. yet, I am grateful for the learning experience, because I have grown into who I am through them. I accept full responsibility for having chosen those men, at those times, for the lessons they were willing to give me, but today, now, in any relationship I will ever enter into, I will accept nothing less than grace, dignity, honor, duty, courage and a deep love of truth - only a duke will do.

Blessings.
- Darshan

© 2008 Darshan F Jessop