The 17th September marked 50 years since UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold, died in a plane crash on a mission to prevent civil war in newly-independent Congo.

Hammarskjold was a deeply spiritual man, as evidenced by his book of personal devotions, poems and meditations entitled ‘Markings‘, first published in 1964 and now widely regarded as a spiritual classic.  His insight was as profound as his humility.  There are many wonderful quotations contained within this excellent book; my own personal ‘favourite’, which gave particular meaning to my battles with clinical depression, was written in 1952:

Is the bleakness of this world of mine a reflection of my poverty or my honesty, a symptom of weakness or of strength, an indication that I have strayed from my path, or that I am following it? – Will despair provide the answer?