A Night With My Secret Boyfriend

Last night, I spent a couple of hours with my secret boyfriend. It's so secret, even he doesn't know. I have had a crush on him since I was ... quite young. He has always struck me as someone who, despite the outer trappings, has a vibrant inner life. There are qualities that seem to rise out of him that bespeak a kindness and innate goodness. You may have guessed his identity by now, photographs splashed all over my room and all:  HRH Prince Charles, the future King. I know, whoda thunk it?  He may not be the handsomest chap on the planet, but he cares about people and all life on planet Earth, and he wants to save the world. What's not to like?  Oh, yes, there was that thing with Diana. But, laying all judgment aside, what he offers the world has great value.

I repeat: what he offers the world has great value.

Sometime in the very early evening, I got the message to turn on the television. I don't get that message too often, so I listened. There was Brian Williams doing a preview of two shows scheduled for later. First, an interview, "Prince Charles: The Man Who Will Be King," followed by HRH new film, "Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World," in which he talks about ways in which we can protect planet Earth while creating an entirely new economy. He's been talking about this for a long time and even did a wonderful book and film on it many years ago. But did we listen?  I think we all know the answer to that. The good news is, it's not too late. Well, Charles, and a whole bunch of us commoners, hope that it isn't. Commoners, as in folks with common ground, that ground being the planet Earth.

I enjoyed the hour-long interview, but it was the film which followed that reaffirmed him as my Secret Boyfriend. Well, not so secret anymore. I hope you can handle this bit of information. I promise there will be no stalking involved, just quietly cheering him on and finding ways I can incorporate more of his ideas into my daily life.

The thing I especially like about him is that he doesn't just talk about it. He walks the talk. Organic farming is a way of life for him, and he is encouraging all of us to follow suit. Yes, he has a gardener, but that does not negate his point. He feels the world economy could be completely revitalized if we started understanding that nature offers us all that we need in the way of renewable energy and other resources, in an ongoing symbiotic relationship where everyone's needs are met - and he does mean everyone - and nature doesn't suffer at our hands. Around the world he is involved in projects that point to this as a very real possibility. It's happening for some already and he hopes it will become a movement. He states,  "We cannot sustain our human economy without sustaining nature's economy."

Did you have a chance to watch it?

I loved the part of the Cajun farmer in Louisiana who is now doing organic farming. And seemed very happy about it. At the end of his segment he said, with a smile,  "You'd think me and the prince went to school together ... but we didn't."  Then a really big smile.  It was so sweet, and his love of what he does was so apparent. He knows he's part of something that matters.

There were segments in India and Indonesia, all pointing to ways in which people are introducing these ideas into their lives and their villages and it's making a very real difference. I was torn between taking notes and just becoming enmeshed in what I was viewing. I finally set my notebook down and just watched and listened.

A woman in India who is leading the movement there, talked about the nine seeds she planted, representing nine planets. She feels this goes beyond our planet and includes a cosmic view in her vision of the possibilities. That struck a deep chord with me. Anything that talks about protecting our planet should include a universal vision, seems to me.

The other aspect to Charles that I've always been drawn to is his spirituality. He's looked into many of the world's religious traditions and those that are not so traditional. Although the program last night didn't go into it very much, he's a believer in alternative methods of healing, including spiritual healing. He talks of, "our interconnectedness with nature and a world beyond the material."

He's also an artist, with watercolor as his usual medium, including the two here, above and below.

 

Another aspect of his life that the film did not cover, is that several years ago he created a project in which an English village was built that did not allow cars on the brick streets. Houses, shops and such, all within walking or bicycling distance. It's a complete, self-contained, self-sustained village, not unlike the old English colonial villages, but a tad more upscale. Just a tad. Last night, he said he's been accused of being a dilettante. Call him what you will, this man has not sat idly by, twirling his sceptre.

And that's all I'll say about that.

Those two hours with Charles last night just flew by. I had such a good time. It may sound way too idealistic, but I hope the world starts listening. I think he has something to say, something to show us. Hope has kicked in again, just when it was starting to wane. Thank you, Your Highness. And I do mean Your Highness. Something we can all aspire to. Our higher selves, with a higher purpose.

Alas and alack, these are not my personal photographs. I borrowed them all from The Great, All-knowing Google.