Each morning, as the sun rises and I sip my first cup of coffee, I recall the incredible journey I began two years ago with Global Sisters Report. My days are filled with reading and editing columns by sisters from around the world, each offering a unique perspective on a range of issues, including spirituality, social justice, priesthood, and religious life. Through this work, I have learned a lot about technology, time management, and the profound value of international friendship.
I have been blessed to learn about life in Spain, Kenya, India and many other countries through the columns shared with me. Sometimes I come across stories that bring me to my knees in prayer, such as those that speak of the serious challenges facing sisters in Ukraine, Nicaragua, Chad and Cuba. It takes courage to write about the experiences sisters have had in the places where they serve. It also takes courage to speak your mind publicly. But the thoughts and experiences of all the sisters I serve through my service with Global Sisters Report have profoundly changed my own life.
As an editor, when a sister publishes a column, I often receive emails from readers who were deeply touched by the message. I always forward these encouraging messages to the author. Recently, I received a particularly beautiful email, so I asked the sender if I could publish it as a letter to the editor. She graciously agreed.
Dear Mr Corbyn,
Article dated August 4, 2023Discover your inner light and live in harmony with GodI love that you wrote this article: “The journey inward is a journey outward. Self-discovery is not a selfish, isolated journey. The journey inward ultimately leads us outward.”
When I read this, I thought of Dag Hammarskjöld. Said In a speech to the Swedish Travel Association in February 1960, Hammarskjöld said: Hammarskjöld was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations and I studied his work in graduate school. The following passage is an excerpt from a paper I wrote about Hammarskjöld:
When Dag Hammarskjöld came to the United Nations from his native Sweden, where he had loved the outdoors as a skier, hiker and mountaineer, he brought with him the Arctic nature that was deep in his heart. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, his love of the Arctic inspired him to explore the realm of international politics, documenting his explorations in public speeches and statements. In a speech to the Swedish Travel Association in February 1960, he symbolically spoke about his travels in the UN territory: “The way in can become the way out. But for the traveller with open eyes and heightened senses, the way out can become the way home in a deeper sense.” For Hammarskjöld, his outward journey in search of peace at the UN became “the way home in a deeper sense…”.
Your statement that “the journey inward eventually leads us outward” is similar to Hammarskjöld’s statement that “the way inward can become the way outward.” I wanted to share Hammarskjöld’s words with you because they are very similar to yours. Thank you for writing this article. I think it’s great.
Best of luck,
Darren Martin
These messages and letters that I receive are a testament to our mission to amplify the voices of women nuns around the world and share their stories with the wider community.
I pray that I will continue to empower women religious to tell their stories. Their lives are full of joy, wisdom, strength, courage and kindness. Their stories need to be heard because they impact so many lives, including my own.
When I told Darlene Martin, the letter’s author, that the column resonated with me because, as an introvert, getting outside always brings me back to my center, she replied to my email and told me that it reminded her of something the artist Bo Beskow, Dag Hammarskjöld’s friend and biographer, said about Hammarskjöld:
“His movements were so clear and direct. I had the impression that he was moving around a vertical center line, like an ancient Egyptian sculpture or an Oriental dancer. In Western classical ballet, dancers extend their movements to every corner of a geometric room, but the Hindu dancer moves around an inner axis and always returns to it. Doug moved gracefully around the center, but never moved further than he could return to it.”
Apparently, Dag Hammarskjöld was also an introvert. So, like Hammarskjöld, I travel the world listening to many sisters and helping them tell their stories. In the process, they have broadened my horizons, allowed me to experience the world through their eyes, and allowed me to connect deeply with them and the people they serve. And somehow, I find myself back at my center, offering everything to God in prayer.
I am grateful for this.
