Mystic Monday: Modern Edition

Today children we depart from our ancient mystics to take up the life and writings of a contemporary man whose name used to fascinate me as a child:

Dag Hammarskjold.

Now you might not immediately think that a Swedish economist and statesman who went on to become the second Secretary general of the United Nations would qualify as a mystic. What you can learn from looking at his life is that he was a man who was dedicated to working toward peace and in fact it was on a peace mission to the Congo that he tragically met his death. He as awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize in 1961 for his global peace efforts.

For our purposes though, a small volume of his personal writings entitled Markings which was published after his death, and which he himself called a sort of White Book concerning my negotiations with myself - and with God." is filled with mystical thought and encounters with the divine.

I want to share one with you here today that I love, and have meditated on repeatedly:

Thou takest the pen and the lines dance.

Thou takest the flute-and the notes shimmer.

Thou takest the brush and the colors sing.

So all things have meaning and beauty in that space beyond time where Thou art.

How then can I hold back anything from Thee?

Maybe this quote resonates with me because I write, and I play the flute and while I don't paint I do create colorful things with my knitting needles, and in all these endeavors I am acutely aware and ever humbly grateful that it is not me but the divine spark within me that allows me to create such beauty.

If you get a chance, spend some time reading more of his writings.

Pax