One of the most powerful questions a person can ask is, "What is the meaning of life?" Robert Fulghum did an amazing job of answering this questions through a personal account of an experience he had.
Fulgum was in studying at a University where it was common practice on the final day of class for teachers to ask their students "Do you have any questions before we part ways?" Fulghum ask, "What is the purpose of life?" The other students would laugh and leave. It wasn't until Fulghum met Alexander Papaderos that this important question ever got answered.
Fulghum got an invitation to visit a peace institute founded by Alexander Papaderos. During the closing of Dr. Papaderos' last teaching, he looked around the room and asked, "Are there any final questions?" Fulghum raised his hand and when called upon he asked, "Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?" As usual, people laughed and started to leave but then Dr. Papaderos said, "Sit back down. I will tell you what I believe is the meaning of life."
Papaderos said that when he was a kid he discovered a broken portion of a mirror. Papaderos sanded the edges until the broken mirror became a perfectly smooth circle. He practiced capturing the sun with his mirror and shining the light it created into otherwise dim and dark places.
Then Papaderos looked around the room and said, "I came to realize that every one of us is a fragment of a mirror whose size and shape we do not know, but as a fragment of that mirror we are essential to it's wholeness." Papaderos handed the piece of mirror to Fulghum and said, "Now you go and tell this story to the world."
Each and every one of us is a fragment of a mirror whose size and shape we do not know. But as a fragment of that mirror we are each uniquely essential to its wholeness. So what are we here for? To take whatever seems dark in life, and shine light on it.
Fulgum was in studying at a University where it was common practice on the final day of class for teachers to ask their students "Do you have any questions before we part ways?" Fulghum ask, "What is the purpose of life?" The other students would laugh and leave. It wasn't until Fulghum met Alexander Papaderos that this important question ever got answered.
Fulghum got an invitation to visit a peace institute founded by Alexander Papaderos. During the closing of Dr. Papaderos' last teaching, he looked around the room and asked, "Are there any final questions?" Fulghum raised his hand and when called upon he asked, "Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?" As usual, people laughed and started to leave but then Dr. Papaderos said, "Sit back down. I will tell you what I believe is the meaning of life."
Papaderos said that when he was a kid he discovered a broken portion of a mirror. Papaderos sanded the edges until the broken mirror became a perfectly smooth circle. He practiced capturing the sun with his mirror and shining the light it created into otherwise dim and dark places.
Then Papaderos looked around the room and said, "I came to realize that every one of us is a fragment of a mirror whose size and shape we do not know, but as a fragment of that mirror we are essential to it's wholeness." Papaderos handed the piece of mirror to Fulghum and said, "Now you go and tell this story to the world."
Each and every one of us is a fragment of a mirror whose size and shape we do not know. But as a fragment of that mirror we are each uniquely essential to its wholeness. So what are we here for? To take whatever seems dark in life, and shine light on it.
About the Author:
Must See: Watch the full Ask Mary Morrissey: What Is The Purpose of Life video. Then, watch Mary's other video answers to life's big questions, by visiting the Ask Mary Morrissey blog.
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