Lightly Child, Lightly.

~ Live & Learn

So rests the sky against the earth. The dark still tarn in the lap of the forest. As a husband embraces his wife’s body in faithful tenderness, so the bare ground and trees are embraced by the still, high, light of the morning. I feel an ache of longing to share in this embrace, to be united and absorbed. A longing like carnal desire, but directed towards earth, water, sky, and returned by the whispers of the trees, the fragrance of the soil, the caresses of the wind, the embrace of water and light. Content? No, no, no–but refreshed, rested–while waiting.

— Dag Hammarskjöld, “Markings” (Alfred A. Knopf, 1964)

Notes:

  • Quote: Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels
  • Photo: DK’s Daybreak. 5:19 am. July 1, 2020. 65° F. Humidity 100%. Wind: 3 mph. Gusts: 4 mph. Cloud Cover: 66%. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT
  • Post Title & Inspiration: Aldous Huxley: “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.”

 

 

27 thoughts on “Lightly Child, Lightly.”

  1. Your choice of words with this image, and Lightly, and your recent passion for dawn photography, the way you can’t wait to be there at the horizon’s doorsteps…
    It doesn’t get any better than this!

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      1. Do you know of any politician or diplomat in our modern day history who talks/feels like this? Hammarskjöld was a common every day name in the world when I was a kid.

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    2. Sawsan, I find this so exciting. I’ve never ever heard of that man and peacemaker and now I not only learn about him but also read that YOU knew about this remarkable man….. THIS is the kind of human being your country needs desperately! (Oh well one can dream….)

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      1. My country as in the United States?

        I just realised he died way before I was born. And I have no clue as to how I know him. My cousins and uncles spoke of him a lot. Only recently I learned he was a writer, almost 4 years ago, here…

        Lightly child, lightly.

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        1. Isn’t our world full of surprises, luckily mostly good ones! Again, cannot comment on that other DK. Post but will when next on my laptop. Thanks for pointing this out, and to explain, I speak of those un-united states – as your country because you live there! I know it’s not your soul’s home but hey, you live there. I always liked it when, in France, our Congolese friends spoke about ‘au pays’ (in the country)…. never a name or such, always ‘only’ au pays, and we knew that it was the Congo or maybe, in rare cases, Angola or such.

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  4. Every day brings one or more surprises, THIS is a magnificent one. But it’s getting far better, when you dig a bit deeper:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A4gm%C3%A4rken

    and this: (Amazon)
    “Perhaps the greatest testament of personal devotion published in this century.”—The New York Times
    “The conviction when one has finished [Markings is] that one has had the privilege of being in contact with a great, good, and lovable man.”—W. H. Auden

    About the Author
    Dag Hammarskjold was born in Sweden in 1905 and died in Northern Rhodesia in a plane crash in 1961, while flying there to negotiate a cease-fire between United Nations and Katanga forces. Elected Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1953, serving until his death, he was known throughout the world as a peacemaker. He had studied law and economics, but was also widely read in philosophy and literature. His internal struggles remained a private matter between him and God until after his death, when this book of meditations was published, making him posthumously one of the twentieth century’s most noted spiritual pilgrims.

    Dag Hammarskjold was a remarkable world leader who was taken from us in a suspicious plane crash while he was trying to broker a peaceful solution to a horrible war in the Congo. .”Markings” is a beautiful stream of spiritual consciousness and insightful musings of a peacemaker who sometimes experienced the dark night …

    Thank you for this really luminous gift for today.

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  5. Whoa, DK!! Eric must be either thrilled with or growing envious of your photog skills! Wonderful! This could be on the cover of one of Tolkien’s books (or on the cover of yours)!

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  9. So beautiful! the photo, the words, and the life of Hammarskjöld. I reread a book of his writings recently, after watching a fascinating documentary about his death [at the hands of probably Belgium–they didn’t want Black people owning their own land and riches in Africa].
    “Dag” never had a wife or lover apparently…he said that his work was so encompassing he wouldn’t have the time necessary to include a personal life. But, his words show a deep appreciation that goes through and beyond deep appreciating of sensuality.

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