man of note: dag hammarskjold

in a recent trip to a holiday resort,
owned by a church,
i picked up a book about dag hammarskjold ..
the christian statesman.

he was well known and a pillar of strength
working for the united nations as its sec-gen.
he was an intellectual through and through,
and would find time to pursue all manner of intellectual pursuits,
literature, music, and art...
his taste in art was towards the moderns
but his taste in music was towards the classics.
he owned a bohemian flat in new york,
where he entertained many of his international friends...

once, he was visiting the new york museum of art,
and he was so acquainted with the pieces of art,
that the curator of the museum asked his companion,
in a quick and quiet discreet aside,
"is he the director of the swedish art museum?"
to which the companion chortled,
"not at all, he just loves art very much!"

apparently the man used to participate in reading circles,
and his friends were impressed by the manner
in which he picked out the most important facts,
outlining possible undercurrents in the plot,
and contributed positively to the discussion.
his love of reading was such,
he would often send books to his beloved friends,
soon after meetings with them...
those books he felt that they should read!
perhaps, that is a good idea,
but not for one whose pockets are not yet lined with gold...

his life ended with an interesting note...
after his death, his secretary went to clean out his papers,
whereby a stack of papers were found in his drawers,
it was a collection of writings,
in poem form,
some of which were short,
some of them long.

the writings were published as "markings"
and was reputedly the second most popular book in the USA
after the holy bible, no less...
"markings" was a reference to his mountain climbing experiences
apparently, when one climbs mountains
(dag was from sweden)
one leaves certain markings at certain places,
markings which are too important for one to miss,
marking the places or memories that one hopes to keep.

i wonder where in malaysia i can obtain a copy?
http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1961/hammarskjold-bio.html

the following are some quotes by the man:

1.
For all that has been, thanks.
For all that will be, yes.

2.
Life only demands from you the strength you possess.
Only one feat is possible - not to have run away.

3.
Pray that your loneliness may spur you
into finding something to live for,
great enough to die for.

4.
The longest journey is the journey inward.

5.
The only kind of dignity which is genuine
is that which is not diminished
by the indifference of others.

source: http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Dag_Hammarskjold/


dag studied endlessly,
earning a degree in the humanities,
a degree in economics,
a degree in law,
and a doctoral degree in economics.
he translated works of poetry and literature to swedish,
as a means of passing the time,
and it was by no means an easy task!
he was also quite a theatre buff,
and at one point, arranged for an american theatre writer,
whose works were not so popular and whose fortunes were ailing,
to have his works brought to sweden,
and all over europe!

a wonderful man indeed,
and a good example to emulate.