Alexander Papaderos was a doctor of philosophy, teacher, politician and a resident of Athens. Each year in Athens the great philosophers and theologians would gather for three days. They would discuss the questions of philosophy. At the end of one of these conferences, Alexander came to the pulpit and asked "Are there any questions?" There were a thousand that could have been asked after all that had been discussed. The room was dead quiet; there had not been time for these minds to work through all they had heard for a question. Just as Alexander began to close the meeting, a young man from the back of the room raised his hand and replied, "I have a question." All eyes turned. "What is the meaning of Life?" A soft roar of laughter went through the room. Alexander raised his hand asking for silence. He starred into the eyes of this man to see if his question was sincere. After moments of silence, Alexander, realizing that the question was asked with real intent, he began to speak; "I will answer the question." This was his answer: "When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A motorcycle had been wrecked in that place. I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece, this one (holding it up). And by scratching it on a stone I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine - in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find. "I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. 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. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light. But light - truth, understanding, and knowledge - is there, and will only shine in dark places as I reflect it. "I am a fragment of a mirror whose design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world - 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 am about. This is the meaning of my life".
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