Inspirational story about the meaning of life

cgladys

Just wanted to share an excerpt that I saved from a Readers Digest that I just ran across--this has got to be about 20 years ago and the page is yellow and torn but it meant a lot to me then in terms of guidance and still means a lot to me today....I'm going to paraphrase a bit in the interest of
time and space.....

Once, and only once, I asked the question "What is the meaning of life?" and got a serious answer. One that is with me still.

So, I asked: "Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?"
Laughter followed, and people stirred to go.

Papaderos looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing that I was.

"I will answer your question."
Taking his wallet from his hip pocket, he fished out a small round mirrior, the size of a quarter. Then he said, "I was a small child during the war. One day, on the road, I found broken pieces of a mirror. I kept the largest piece. This one. I began to play with it and became fascinated that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine-- deep holes, crevices, dark closets.

I kept the little mirror, and as I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life-- that I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design I do not know. With what I have, I can reflect light-- truth, understanding, knowledge-- into the black places in the hearts of men and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I do."