In 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld, the second UN Secretary General and one of the brightest stars of the early 20th Century, died as his burning plane plummeted from the sky in Africa. He avoided death by fire because he did not have his seat-belt on, allowing him to be thrown from the plane as it crashed into the ground. His body was found several feet from the fire, clutching a clump of grass torn from the ground.
I was nearly 4 years old, and I was living in New Jersey, when Dag died. I do not remember this event. Our family did not yet own a TV and I could not yet read the newspapers my parents got daily. I don’t know how much radio I listened to as a young child.
However, one day in my grandmother’s home in Utah, I came to understand how deeply his death affected the lives of millions of people on the earth. My understanding started to developed from her tearful story. Later I would learn more of the story from others. Finally I would read her treasured copy of his biography, “Hammarskjöld”, published just 4 years after his death. It now graces my book shelves and I reference it to understand history a little better.
My childhood training also included a passion for world peace. I watched with wonder as the people my parents supported and admired, crossed the world stage, spending their lives working to raise the phoenix of world peace from the ashes of the 20th Century. The irony for me, as a child, was how many times those very people who claimed to want world peace could not agree on how to win it. They also could not agree on what was legal or ethical behavior.
Hammarskjöld’s life work was dedicated to bringing peace to a troubled world afraid that it would one day fall into a nuclear holocaust of its own making. His fiery death closed the door on his efforts. Many feared it spelled the end of real time world peace. Those who knew him well wept for the amazing friend they had lost. There are those who still labor to see the phoenix of world peace rise from the ashes. Others would say they are dreamers trying to boil the ocean.
Years after Hammarskjöld’s death, I would learn of the work of Grenville Clark, who focused much of his life’s work on bringing about the birth of the United Nations. He was a peer to Dag Hammarskjöld. His life’s work was spent using his ‘legal prowess’ to create, from the model of “English-American liberty…developed out of the experience of self-government…over a period of centuries…., (an) education (which) will ultimately bring the people of the world to understand their stake in lawful community. And if they understand it, he would say with closing-curtain finality, they’ll get it.”
(All quotes are from the book “A Very Private Public Citizen: The Life Of Grenville Clark”, by Nancy Peterson Hill, University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201, 2014)
My life has been partially filled with an unexpected journey in politics. Like Dag Hammarskjöld, I found myself being asked to serve. I stayed for many years in the most powerful position anyone in politics can have, that of precinct chair for my neighborhood. I remained in the role until the office was watered down by those who feared that post most.
I have learned that in politics there must be opposition in all things in order for anything to exist. I learned that those who fear have the least amount of power. Those who understand the power of opposition can live powerful lives at peace in a conflicted world that hates the very thing that makes their lives possible. Conflict is the very essence of what creates life and spices it.
I have learned the opposition lesson in many different walks of my life. When I read that Clark and his peers hoped to bring about “world peace through world law” and the use of “international justice” to establish a single system of law, I became concerned that perhaps those of his time were not aware of how essential opposition is in matters of “the rule of law…in the world community.”
(All quotes are from the book “A Very Private Public Citizen: The Life Of Grenville Clark”, by Nancy Peterson Hill, University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201, 2014)
Clark, himself, was a multifaceted, complex man who used his own personal standards to rule his relationships with all of his friends. They often found themselves to be on opposing sides of his causes and then at other times, they found themselves on his side. But Clark never sacrificed their friendship over differences in opinion.
If Clark could have applied to the world the rules he lived by in his personal life, then he would have seen that the very opposition he fought to remove from International Law is essential for good relations.
The international courts of law Clark helped establish are very philanthropic and utilitarian in their ideals. I think the way they have functioned, through the passage of time, shows that opposition has a key role in all matters of the law. I think it is not possible for the rule of law to exist, except that there are disagreements among us as to how one should live life. The role of the court is to determine the role of many conflicting laws in an individual’s life.
I was taught from childhood that if opposition did not exist, then nothing would exist. It is the very revelation of Newton’s first 3 laws of motion. Nothing can exist without opposition.
The very effort to prove the existence of an atom is done by recording the opposing directional movement of the parts of an atom when it is split by a high speed particle accelerator. Its existence cannot be proven without showing there are parts in an atom which will go in opposing directions when broken apart.
There is compelling evidence, in psychology, that opposites do not attract. However, there is also compelling evidence that those who are attracted, find that attraction is full of mystery created by the very existence in each other of things they do not, themselves, have.
What would you pay to understand what tools and powers your best business partner has that make her/him irreplaceable? When she/he is gone, do you know how to find someone to replace her/him? Who will lead you company when you are ready to move on?
What would you, as a parent, pay to understand the abilities your partner has that you do not have? What would you as a parent pay to understand just one thing that would be constant about your child? What if you knew you could rely on that one thing when you needed most to relate with your child(ren)?
Relate Book is all about how we relate to people. We value others as they value us. Relate Book is all about how to increase the value of our relationships by increasing our ability to relate.
We may not be able to boil the whole ocean of issues surrounding world peace. World Peace may be something not possible in our life times. But we can warm our relationships as we learn to relate with each other.
The Book Launch for Relate Book is coming quickly. Keep you eye on this blog. Within the week, we should have a way for you to register for information including upcoming blogs and registration for The Launch! Those who pay for the Launch Party will receive 2 free copies of ‘Relate’. These will be the beginning of an amazing journey for you, and your closest peers.
As you learn how to relate to each other in spite of great differences in priorities and values, you will be amazed at the changes for good in your relationships.
Testimonial:
“Learning about (the ‘Relate Structure’) from Lynette has been an intriguing experience and is extremely beneficial to me. Every lesson offers new information and useful tips to help build better relationships. As a single woman, it has empowered and excited me for future…relationships. It has set me free of what others may think of how and whom I date because I better understand our differences….The more I learn from Lynette the more aware I am of others and their (Law Systems). I am very lucky to have attended her classes and gained the knowledge that I have. It influences my life for the better every day.” Brie, UT
Watch for a sign up link this week!
We do not need to be a phoenix. We only need to realize that the world, like a phoenix, will rise healed from ashes of fire. We, as individuals, create a better life for ourselves and our communities through better personal relationships.
Creating a better world starts in our homes and communities. These are the seats of power. This is where we shape the world. Come play with me and learn about the tools you have. Learn to build new, life long friendships.
If you would like to sponsor a 40-minute seminar at your home, let me know by email.
Our first Seminar will be March 6, 2019 in Draper. Watch for details!
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