Sunday, August 9, 2015

Commentary on MARKINGS




1925 - 1930

Thus It Was

I am being driven forward
Into an unknown land.
The pass grows steeper,
The air colder and sharper.
A wind from my unknown goal
Stirs the strings
Of expectation

Still the question:
Shall I ever get there?
There where life resounds,
A clear pure note
In the silence.

A brief quote from the forward of Markings is the only commentary necessary for our current civil servants as well as aspiring peacemakers in our world.

A reader of Markings may well be surprised by what it does not contain - that Dag Hammarskjöld should not make a single direct reference to his career as an international civil servant, to the persons he met, or the historical events of his time in which he played an important role- but if he is surprised by what it does contain, then he cannot have read the credo which, shortly after his appointment as Secretary General, Hammarskjöld  wrote for a radio program of Edward Murrow's.
From generations of soldiers and government officials on my father's side I inherited a belief that no life was more satisfactory than one of selfless service to your country or humanity.  This service required a sacrifice of all personal interests, but likewise the courage to stand up unflinchingly for your convictions.  From scholars and clergymen on my mother's side I inherited a belief that, in the very radical sense of the Gospels, all men were equals as children of God, and should be met and treated by us as our masters.
Translated from Swedish by Leif Sjoberg & W.H. Auden.  Forward by W. H. Auden.

Offspring of the past, pregnant with the future, the present moment, nevertheless, always exist in eternity - always in eternity as the point of intersection between time and the timeless of faith, and therefore, as the moment of freedom from past and future.

Thou who art over us,
Thou who art one of us,
Thou who -
Also within us,
May all see Thee - in me also,
May I prepare Thee for all that shall fall to my lot,
May I also not forget the needs of others,
Keep me in Thy love
As Thou wouldest that all should be kept in mine.
May everything in this my being he directed to Thy glory
And may I never despair
For I am under Thy hand,
And in Thee is all power and goodness.
Give me a pure heart - that I may see Thee,
A humble heart - that I may hear Thee,
A heart of love - that I may serve Thee,
A heart of faith - that I may abide in Thee.

3rd Dog

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